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THE 


LIFE    AID    TIMES 


OF 


JOHN   CALVIN, 


THE  GEEAT  REFORMER. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN  OP 

PAUL  HENRY,   D.D., 

MINISTER    AND   SEMINARY-INSPECTOR    IN    BERLIN. 


BY 

HENKY  STEBBING,   D.D.,  F.K.S. 

>irtGOR   OF   "  HISTORY    OF   THE    CHURCH    AND    REFORMATION"    IN    LARDNEtt's    CYCLOP-fiPIA 

HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCH    OF    CHRIST    FROM   THE    DIE!    OF    AUGSBURG  ; 

LIVES    OF   THE    ITALIAN    POETS,   ETC. 


IN    TWO   VOLUMES. 
VOL.    I. 


NEW  YORK: 

ROBERT     CARTER    A    BROTHERS, 
No.    285     BROADWAY. 

1853. 


TO 

DOCTOR  NEANDEK, 

THE    FAITHFUL,  PROFOUND,  AND    ENLIGHTENED 

HISTORIAN   OF  THE  CHURCH   OF  CHRIST, 

THE   TRANSLATOR, 

FOLLOWING    THE    EXAMPLE    OF   THE 

DISTINGUISHED    AUTHOR   OF   Tins    WORK, 

DEDICATES    IT, 

IN    ITS   ENGLISH    FORM, 

WITH   THE   MOST   EARNEST   SENTIMENTS    OF    RESPECT 

AND    ADMIRATION. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


The  Author  has  fully  explained  in  his  preface  the  ob- 
ject which  he  proposed  to  himself  in  undertaking  a  life  of 
Calvin.  It  will  be  sufficient,  therefore,  for  the  Translator 
to  state  the  reasons  which  induce  him  to  hope  that  the 
work  may  be  acceptable  to  English  readers.  In  the  in- 
quiries which  he  was  led  to  make,  some  few  years  ago, 
into  the  history  of  the  Reformation,  he  felt  "both  surprise 
and  regret  that  so  little  exact  information  existed  respect- 
ing Calvin.  Independent  of  his  fame  as  a  theologian, 
Calvin  is  one  of  the  great  historical  characters  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  We  can  form,  indeed,  no  adequate  idea 
of  that  period  if  we  leave  out  of  our  consideration  the 
labors  and  actions  of  a  man,  who  so  materially  aided  the 
development  of  the  all-important  principles  then  in  progress 
of  formation.  The  present  work  affords  ample  details  on 
the  main  points  connected  with  Calvin's  history,  and  with 
that  of  his  age.  They  have  been  derived  from  sources  now, 
in  great  part,  for  the  first  time  made  public.  The  Trans- 
lator, therefore,  hopes  that  he  has  not  been  unprofitably 
employed  in  giving  this  biography  to  the  English  reader. 

Dr.  Henry's  admiration  of  Calvin  is  almost  unbounded. 
But  devoted  as  is  his  veneration  for  the  great  reformer, 
he  has  been  too  candid  to  conceal  either  his  faults  or 
his  errors.  Though  generally  taking  the  part  of  an  apol- 
ogist, he  never  omits  facts  or  documents ;  never  garbles 


VI  TRANSLATORS    PREFACE. 

a  letter,  or  weakens,  by  an  imperfect  abstract,  a  hostile 
argument. 

Twenty  years,  we  understand,  intervened  between  the 
commencement  and  the  completion  of  this  work.  No 
slight  variety  of  style  has  been  the  consequence.  The 
Author  generally  writes  with  much  vigor,  and  is  often 
eloquent;  but  his  style  is  occasionally  painfully  harsh, 
abrupt,  and  perplexed.  Hence  the  Translator  has  had  to 
choose  between  the  attempt  to  soften  the  original,  at  the 
hazard  of  somewhat  modifying  the  meaning  of  the  Author, 
or  following  the  current  of  his  stylo,  rough  as  it  may  be, 
and  thus  leaving  the  matter  to  be  settled  between  the 
reader  and  the  original  writer. 

But  anxious  as  he  has  been  honestly  to  preserve  the 
sharpest  features  of  the  original,  the  Translator  may  be 
permitted,  he  trusts,  to  guard  himself  against  the  chance 
of  misrepresentation  as  to  his  own  views  or  opinions.  He 
begs  then  that  it  may  be  understood,  that  it  is  chiefly  on 
account  of  its  historical  value  that  he  has  desired  to  make 
this  work  known  to  English  readers.  He  has  a  most  sincere 
respect  for  the  piety  and  eminent  talents  of  the  author ; 
but  neither  his  regard  for  Dr.  Henry,  nor  his  profound 
admiration  of  Calvin,  in  the  general  features  of  his  char- 
acter and  sublime  zeal,  has  altered  his  views  on  the  sub- 
ject to  which  he  has  here  more  especial  cause  to  refer. 
Dr.  Henry  has  defended  Calvin,  in  the  case  of  Servetus, 
with  admirable  ability  ;  but  the  Translator  believes  still,  as 
he  has  ever  believed,  that  when  men  enjoy  so  large  a  meas- 
ure of  light  and  wisdom  as  Calvin  possessed,  they  cannot 
be  justified,  if  guilty  of  persecution,  because  they  lived  in 
times  when  wicked  and  vulgar  minds  warred  against  the 
rights  of  human  conscience.  If  Calvin  had  prayed  to  be 
set  free  from  the  bondage  which  made  him  a  persecutor, 


translator's  preface.  vii 

his  otherwise  spotless  reputation  would  have  been  un- 
stained by  the  one  blot  which  disfigures  it.  Persecution  is 
opposed  to  the  essential  principles  of  Christianity.  Nothing 
can  justify  it,  under  any  form  or  pretence  whatsoever,  as 
long  as  the  Gospel  is  acknowledged  to  be  divine. 

With  regard  again  to  matters  connected  with  church 
governmer  t  and  discipline,  the  Translator  desires  to  state, 
that,  while  reporting  the  sentiments  of  many  parties  on 
these  subjects,  he  has  learnt  to  love,  more  and  more,  the 
church  to  which  it  is  his  happiness  and  privilege  to  belong. 
Much  as  he  desires  to  see  some  improvements  in  the  prac- 
tical working  of  its  system,  and  truly  as  he  deplores  the 
abuses  which  prevail  in  ecclesiastical  patronage,  he  is  fully 
persuaded  that  no  church  has  ever  more  closely  approached 
the  apostolic  model,  or  been  more  generally  adapted  to 
imbue  a  nation  with  the  knowledge  and  the  principles  of 
the  Gospel,  than  the  Church  of  England. 

London. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 


It  is  especially  useful,  for  the  period  at  which  we  are 
arrived,  to  hold  communion  with  the  great  men  of  former 
times — with  those  noble  characters  whose  fortitude  may 
teach  us  to  think  more  profoundly  and  to  act  more  firmly ; 
to  examine  with  keener  observation  the  plan  of  divine  prov- 
idence, and  thus  render  our  times  preparative  of  a  better 
future.  While  Luther's  history  is  more  adapted  to  awaken 
Christian  sentiments  among  the  people  at  large,  that  of 
Calvin  is  eminently  calculated  to  exercise  a  powerful  in- 
fluence on  the  minds  of  the  thoughtful  and  educated.  Not 
so  suited  as  the  former  to  arouse  religious  feeling,  it  is 
much  better  fitted  to  sharpen  the  spirit,  to  excite  a  love  of 
great  undertakings  in  modern  times,  and  to  ground  them 
firmly  on  the  rock  of  faith,  that  is,  Jesus  Christ. 

After  three  centuries,  there  are  many,  at  the  present 
day,  in  whom  the  memory  of  the  old  times,  and  the  desire 
of  church-reform,  is  powerfully  awakened.  From  the 
northern  provinces  of  the  German  race  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  Seine ;  from  the  Wartburg  to  the  lake  of 
Geneva  and  the  Alpine  valleys,  where  Zwingli  was  born ; 
nay,  throughout  England  to  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and 
even  to  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  world,  has  a  fresh 
enthusiasm  been  aroused  for  that  which  was  noble  in  the 
past,  and  for  a  still  nobler  future.     And  this  enthusiasm 


x  author's  preface. 

will  doubtless  at  length  triumph  over  the  disbelief  and  the 
vain  spirit  of  political  rancor,  which  can  never  give  either 
contentment  to  the  world,  or  peace  to  the  human  heart. 

It  has  been  rightly  observed,  that  we  are  arrived  at  the 
point  of  time  when  a  new  epoch  is  about  to  commence ; 
and  in  such  epochs  of  the  life  of  the  church  will  the  voices 
of  the  great  spirits,  which  God  raised  up  in  early  times, 
call  to  us  from  afar,  and  awaken  us  from  our  slumbers. 
When  the  Spirit  of  God  moves  and  the  heart  feels  his  ap- 
proach, then  will  the  spirits  of  men  again  understand  their 
calling,  and  Calvin  will  speak,  and  find  the  way  to  our 
hearts. 

Two  churches  lie  before  us  in  their  ruins ;  but  a  new  life 
is  seen  amid  those  ruins ;  and  it  is  our  business  to  consider 
carefully  how  the  spirit  of  that  life  can  be  supported.  The 
twofold  manifestation  of  the  church  of  Christ  must  be 
proved  in  the  balance  of  Christian  principle ;  and,  in  this 
respect,  it  is  useful  to  examine  strictly  the  proceedings  of 
such  combatants  as  Calvin,  that  we  may  determine  what 
was  well  and  what  was  ill  done  in  their  course.  Calvin's 
life  exhibits  the  errors  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  church  in 
the  clearest  light.  We  there  also  see  Protestant  antago- 
nism, with  its  attendant  defects ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the 
pure  Christian  faith  in  all  its  genuine  strength ;  that  faith 
which  must,  sooner  or  later,  overcome  all  the  opposition 
and  errors  of  the  age,  and  raise  the  Evangelical  church 
from  its  ruins,  to  assume  a  new  and  purer  form.  Calvin's 
experiment  to  found  an  apostolic  edifice  affords  excellent 
materials  in  aid  of  this  object. 

The  value  of  an  acquaintance  with  this  great  man  id 
especially  apparent  at  a  period,  when  so  many  efforts  have 
been  made  to  prove  that  the  Protestant  church  cannot  last ; 
that  it  bears  within  itself  the  elements  of  decay ;  and  when 


author's   prepack. 


XI 


we  are  unceasingly  told,  that  no  other  choice  remains  for  us 
but  that  between  anarchy  or  an  unchristian  rationalism, 
and  a  blind  subjection  to  the  power  of  the  Catholic  church. 
But  Evangelical  Christendom  knows  a  middle  way  between 
these  hostile  extremes,  one  which  is  according  to  the  type 
of  the  primitive  apostolic  church.  It  is  this  which  Calvin 
exhibited  in  his  doctrine,  and  in  his  admirable  plans  of 
discipline  and  synodal  government;  so  that,  freed  from  the 
individual  peculiarities  with  which,  in  his  own  times,  his 
system  could  not  fail  to  be  marked,  it  will  now  afford  to 
an  inquiring  age  a  safe  pathway  through  its  difficulties. 
He  proved,  from  first  to  last,  that  the  principle  of  Protes- 
tantism does  not  consist  in  a  free,  lawless  inquiry  of  the 
understanding,  which  necessarily  leads  to  anarchy  and  ruin ; 
but  in  a  devout  employment  of  the  mind  and  conscience, 
as  enlightened  and  governed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence, 
amid  all  the  varieties  of  individual  feeling,  a  great  and 
eternal  harmony  exists  in  the  main  doctrines  of  the  Evan- 
gelical church,  and  this  harmony  is  the  bond  of  union 
among  its  members. 

The  value  of  a  close  acquaintance  with  Calvin  appears 
also  in  another  respect.  The  church  of  Geneva  celebrated 
in  1835  a  three-days'  festival  in  honor  of  its  first  refor- 
mation-epoch. In  this  festival  even  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy,  who  were  disposed  to  cherish  evangelical  feelings, 
took  a  part.  They  acknowledged  the  benefit  which  their 
own  church  gained  through  the  Reformation.  Viewing  its 
errors  on  the  one  side,  and  the  old  evangelical  truth  of  the 
apostolic  church  on  the  other^  they  saw  how  it  might  be 
purified  from  the  corruptions  which  were  mingled  with  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  they  were  not  unwilling  to  extend  to  us 
the  hand  of  brotherhood.  But  while  this  was  the  case  even 
with  Catholics,  how  strongly  were  the  members  of  th§ 


xii  author's  prkface. 

Reformed  and  Lutheran  churches  admonished  of  their 
duty  to  form  a  closer  union ;  to  confess  the  pure  apostolic 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God ;  and  to  abolish  the  distinction  of 
names,  the  same  Spirit  of  the  Gospel  being  common  to 
both,  and  the  churches  of  Northern  Germany  having  already 
set  the  example  in  this  Christian  course !  A  nearer  ac- 
quaintance with  Calvin,  far  from  being  an  obstacle  to  such 
a  union,  must  tend  greatly  to  promote  it.  He  deeply 
lamented  every  appearance  of  schism,  and  he  strove  with 
the  most  sincere  desire  to  unite  the  opposite  parties  in  the 
Evangelical  church  into  one  body.  Thus  he  amply  sup- 
plies us  with  weapons,  not  only  against  the  attacks  of  the 
Catholic  party,  but  against  the  distractions  of  a  fierce  and 
unchristian  Protestantism. 

The  genius  and  solid  merits  of  this  reformer  have  rarely 
been  estimated  according  to  their  value.  It  is  only  of 
late  years  that  attention  has  been  drawn  to  his  talent  as  a 
commentator.  We  may  also  mention  it  as  a  singular  fact, 
that  while  the  world  is  so  ready  to  censure  the  ignorance 
of  former  times,  it  should  still  have  so  generally  retained 
its  prejudice  against  Calvin.  While  this  is  shown  by  par- 
ticular criticisms  directed  against  him,  it  is  equally  evident 
from  the  circumstance  that  not  a  single  complete  biography 
of  this  remarkable  man  has  appeared,  many  as  have  been 
the  memoirs  written  of  the  other  less  important  actors  in 
the  time  of  the  Reformation.  The  life  of  Calvin  by  the 
Genevese,  Senebier,  and  translated  into  German  by  Ziegen- 
bein,  and  that  by  Tischer,  are  simple  biographical  notices, 
and  contain  even  less  than  that  by  Beza,  which  is  itself 
but  a  mere  outline.  Bretschneider's  excellent  and  solid, 
though  short  memoir,  in  the  "  Reformations- Almanach," 
on  the  genius  and  character  of  Calvin,  combines  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  man  with  that  of  his  history.     The  earlier 


AUTHORS    PREFACE.  Xlll 

works  written  about  him  are  either  filled  with  abuse,  or  are 
mere  panegyrics.  It  was  impossible,  perhaps,  that  Calvin 
should  have  been  regarded  at  a  former  period  in  a  historical 
point  of  view.  As  a  polemic,  he  could  only  be  treated 
with  a  one-sided  prejudice.  Assailed  with  passionate  vio- 
lence by  his  opponents,  a  sort  of  church-patriotism  taught 
his  friends  to  represent  him  as  infallible  and  immaculate. 
Thus  he  shared  the  fate  of  many  other  great  men,  namely, 
to  be  fanatically  hated,  or  loved  extravagantly.  But  during 
the  reign  of  apostasy  and  indifference  he  was  forgotten  or 
despised.  Now,  however,  when  it  has  ceased  to  be  the 
fashion  to  magnify,  in  a  spirit  of  controversy,  the  failings 
of  the  great  teachers  of  the  church,  or  to  lessen  and  con- 
ceal them  ;  and  when  it  is  seen  that  evangelical  churches 
rest  upon  a  very  different  foundation  to  that  laid  by  the 
mere  virtues  of  the  reformers,  it  becomes  possible  to  form 
an  unprejudiced  opinion  of  this  man,  and  to  expect  it  from 
all  religious  parties,  even  from  evangelically-minded  Roman 
Catholics.  We  may  now  also  look  for  justice  to  be  done 
to  the  greatness  of  his  genius. 

The  old  prejudice  against  him  has  even  prevailed  in  re- 
formed France,  and  such  has  been  the  indifference  respect- 
ing him,  that  till  now,  amid  all  the  variety  of  books,  good 
and  bad,  proceeding  from  the  press,  no  one  has  thought 
of  writing  the  history  of  this  great  theologian.  It  has  been 
no  better  in  Switzerland.  In  England  only  has  some  love 
for  the  forgotten  Calvin  been  displayed. 

It  is  the  hope,  therefore,  of  the  author  of  this  work,  that 
it  may  serve  to  awaken  attention,  not  only  to  the  genius 
of  Calvin,  but  to  the  man  himself,  whom  the  world  has  so 
long  misrepresented,  and  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  ex- 
hibiting him  in  his  proper  character,  without  any  attempt 
to  adorn  it,  but  with  the  same  conscientious  regard  to  truth 


xiv  author's  preface. 

^ 

which  he  himself  would  have  displayed  had  he  written  his 
own  life.  Germany  is  familiar  with  the  "  Institutes,"  and 
a  great  part  of  his  "Commentaries"  may  be  found  in  every 
one's  hands.  But  the  present  work  will  make  him,  we 
trust,  more  generally  known.  He  has  hitherto  been  inac- 
cessible to  the  ordinary  class  of  readers;  no  extracts  or 
selections  from  his  numerous  writings  have  been  published, 
as  in  the  case  of  Luther.  I  have,  therefore,  selected  several 
interesting  passages  from  his  theological  works,  and  have 
given  his  letters,  partly  in  a  literal  translation  and  partly  in 
extracts.  In  these  there  lies  hidden,  in  its  elements,  the 
power  of  faith  and  of  a  profound  intellectuality.  They 
are  impressed  with  the  most  amiable  features  of  his  char- 
acter, hitherto  almost  entirely  overlooked. 

But  there  is  a  moral  benefit  to  be  expected  from  an  in- 
creasing acquaintance  with  Calvin :  his  practical  life  cannot 
fail  to  be  useful,  as  an  effectual  argument  against  those  who 
adopt  and  laud  the  doctrine  of  election,  because  it  serves 
them  as  a  cloak  for  their  sins.  And  further,  the  contem- 
plation of  a  clear  and  well-defined  Christian  character  like 
his  must  needs  be  profitable  at  a  time  when  egotism  and 
sensuality  so  universally  prevails.  That  stern  and  especially 
resolute  spirit,  which,  without  a  trace  of  selfishness,  had 
so  readily  sacrificed  all ;  that  severe  purity  and  morality, 
form  a  singular  contrast  to  the  corrupt  spirit  of  the  time*. 

May  the  world  then,  perverted  as  it  has  been  by  French 
example,  listen  to  the  fact,  that  at  no  remote  period  there 
existed  in  France  a  moral  tribunal ;  that  a  sublime  experi- 
ment was  made  there  to  preserve  the  Christian  church,  by 
•a  moral  power  and  strength,  pure  from  the  contagion  of  a 
miserable  heathenism;  that  the  unworthy  were  excommu- 
nicated ;  whilst  the  church  offered  up  its  supplications  for 
those  who  were  thus  separated  from  its  communion ; — all 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE.  XV 

which  may  sound  as  a  wonder  in  the  ears  of  the  present 
sensual  age.  Here  too  we  might  speak  of  the  martyrs  of 
that  country,  who  afforded  examples  of  fortitude  not  ex- 
celled in  the  primitive  church.  France  will  never,  we  be- 
lieve, arrive  at  a  proper  knowledge  of  herself  till  she  learn 
to  know  and  to  love  the  great  reformer  sent  her  by  God. 
He  was  given  to  her  as  a  bitter  medicine,  but  she  must  take 
it.  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  is  become  a 
corner-stone.  He  may  be  one  of  stumbling  to  many,  but 
he  will  be  also  for  the  rising  of  many.  Iu  a  word,  Calvin 
is  as  a  source  of  living  faith,  hitherto  despised,  but  to  which 
we  now  direct  attention :  he  is  also  as  an  armory,  whence 
weapons  may  be  drawn  for  every  Christian  in  his  good 
fight  against  all  the  powers  of  Antichrist. 

May  the  churches  in  Germany  and  France  look  to  such 
champions,  now  that  a  new  life  is  awakening  among  them ! 
It  is  right  that  at  such  a  period  the  heroes  of  our  faith 
should  be  brought  before  us.  Saint  Bernard  portrayed 
by  jSTeander ;  Wessel  by  Ullinan ;  Luther  in  the  History  of 
the  Reformation  by  Marheineke ;  Beza  and  Martyr  by 
Schlosser  ;  Zwingli  by  Hess ;  Spener  by  Hossbach ;  Bengel 
by  Burck ;  and  many  others,  in  whom  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwelt,  were  impelled  to  seek  and  to  plan  what  was  great 
not  by  flesh  and  blood ;  and  if  they  erred,  they  erred  nobly. 
May  Germany,  mindful  of  its  high  calling,  again  attempt 
something  great  for  the  world !  May  France  awake  from 
its  vain  dreams,  and  behold  its  martyrs,  so  unknown  to  the 
world,  but  so  great  before  God,  and  who  now  look  down 
with  sorrow  upon  the  desolate  scenes  amid  which  they  so 
bravely  fought  and  conquered  ! 

Both  these  countries,  so  altogether  different  from  each 
other  in  modes  of  thinking,  in  manners  and  literature,  may 
become  united  as  Christian  churches,  and  render  this  union 
superior  to  all  other  relations.    Germany  may  help  France, 


XVI  AUTHORS    PREFACE. 

because  by  a  long  and  earnest  theological  culture  it  pos- 
sesses a  Christian  vitality ;  and  France  may  help  Germany 
by  the  history  of  its  church,  in  which  the  blood  of  the  saints 
was  poured  out  as  in  no  other  church.  Thus  Calvin  has 
a  right  to  be  heard  in  Germany.  Much  will  be  found  re- 
lated of  him  in  this  work,  but  it  is  mainly  intended  to  in- 
duce the  reader  to  study  Calvin  himself,  and  to  desire  the 
strong  food  which  he  offers.  We  are  not  likely  how- 
ever to  yield  ourselves  to  the  influence  of  this  great  man, 
unless  we  be  first  made  acquainted  with  the  task  imposed 
upon  him  by  God,  and  with  the  force  by  which  he  over- 
came its  difficulties.  We  must  live  and  pray  with  him,  and 
see  how  his  strength  armed  itself  more  and  more  for  the 
conflict,  and  how  the  Holy  Spirit  led,  supported  and  com- 
forted him  throughout  his  life.  The  only  thing  to  be  ad- 
vanced against  him  is,  that  he  was  not  in  every  respect  supe- 
rior to  his  age ;  and  that,  like  all  other  men,  he  had  to  strive 
with  human  infirmities.  And  if  Providence  should  grant  the 
church  another  such  teacher,  how  would  he  in  the  present 
day,  and  after  an  experience  of  three  hundred  years,  speak 
to  us  in  the  new  circumstances  of  the  world  ?  What  judg- 
ment would  he  pass  upon  our  creed,  upon  our  systems  of 
doctrine,  and  dogmatics  ?  How  would  he  assail  the  infidel  ? 
How  would  he  endeavor  to  reimpart  holiness  to  the  church 
of  Christ  ?  What  methods  would  he  employ  to  secure  the 
church  in  its  rightful  position  against  Catholic  despotism 
and  Protestant  anarchy?  To  establish  its  proper  relation 
to  the  State  ?     To  restore  and  preserve  its  unity  ? 

These  are  questions  which  every  attentive  reader  of  the 
life  of  Calvin  must  endeavor  to  answer ;  they  correspond 
to  those  which  he  himself  strove  with  untiring  zeal  and  with 
the  whole  energy  of  his  spirit  to  solve,  and  which  he  an- 
swered according  to  the  gifts  afforded  him. 

And  now  may  the  Lord  bless  this  work !    I  have  finished 


AUTHORS    PREFACE.  XV11 

it  with  a  deep  feeling  of  my  own  insufficience  for  the  task, 
and  amid  numerous  professional  occupations  ;  nor  would 
it  have  ever  seen  the  light  had  I  not  felt  an  inward  call, 
which  made  the  undertaking  a  matter  of  duty. 

Dr.  Henry  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  sources  of  his 
information.     The  substance  of  this  statement  will  be 
found  in  the  notes  and  references.    No  author  perhaps 
could  ever  lay  claim  to  greater  industry  or  honesty  in 
the  examination  of  original  authorities  than  Dr.  Henry. 
Proceeding  in  the  next  place  to  describe  the  plan  of 
his  work,  he  says  : — 
I  could  not  conceal  from  myself,  that  the  execution  of  a 
work  like  the  life  of  Calvin  must  be  attended  with  many 
difficulties.     The  first  point  to  be  determined  was,  in  what 
spirit  it  should  be  treated,  and  in  how  far  that  spirit  must 
differ  in  its  working  from  that  of  the  present  day.    Another 
difficulty  belonging  to  the  undertaking  arose  from  the  great 
abundance  of  the  materials.    Whatever  Calvin  did,  formed 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  the  events  to  be  related,  and  the  biog- 
rapher was  obliged  to  follow  him  through  a  course  of  la- 
bors greatly  varied  in  its  direction.     Every  word  which  he 
uttered  had  its  importance,  and  none  of  his  works  could 
properly  be  passed  over  without  notice.     It  was  also  ne- 
cessary to  make  some  mention  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
times.     Neither  the  greatness  nor  the  failings  of  Calvin 
could  be  understood,  if  viewed  apart.     The  events  of  the 
period  when  he  lived  influenced  the  man,  as  he  influenced 
them.     The  history  of  the  French  reformation  moreover  is 
much  Jess  known  than  that  of  the  German.     Our  volatile, 
but  still  rightly-disposed  age,  loves  what  is  piquant  and 
individual  in  biography  ;  requires  completeness,  but  at  the 
same  time  a  careful  sifting  of  materials,  and  abhors  a  pon- 
derous superfluity. 

VOL.  I. — B 


iviii  author's  preface. 

A  methodical  plan,  according  to  which  the  first  part 
should  have  been  confined  to  a  record  of  events,  or  to  the  life 
and  letters  of  Calvin,  the  second  to  an  account  of  his  doc- 
trine, and  the  third  to  that  of  his  government  of  the  church, 
might  indeed  have  reduced  the  abundance  of  the  materials 
to  order;  but  I  have  been  obliged  to  reject  the  idea  of 
such  a  plan,  because  by  such  a  separation  of  the  matter, 
what  the  work  would  have  gained  in  form,  it  would  have 
lost  in  its  fitness  to  represent  the  character  of  the  man,  and 
in  its  influence  on  the  reader.  The  life  itself  would  have 
had  a  cold  and  skeleton-like  appearance,  altogether  wanting 
in  force  ;  while  the  other  two  parts  would  have  failed  in  in- 
terest when  separated  from  what  excites  our  sympathy  with 
the  person.  A  right  feeling  teaches  us,  that  a  biography 
should  be  thoroughly  impressed  with  an  individual  charac- 
ter from  beginning  to  end,  and  the  greatest  of  the  phenom- 
ena which  it  may  present,  whether  they  appear  in  works, 
systems,  opinions  or  actions,  must  be  connected  with  the 
minutest  circumstances  in  the  life  of  the  man. 

Next  to  this  individual  character,  as  essential  to  the 
biography,  we  must  endeavor  to  exhibit  prominently  the 
principle, — the  fundamental  idea, — which  animal -t  s  the  nar- 
rative ;  which  gives  a  unity  to  its  several  parts,  and  thus 
serves  to  exhibit  the  man  in  his  true  image.  If  the  life  of 
an  individual  be  written  either  in  the  whole  or  in  part  dif- 
ferently, the  biographer  constitutes  himself  his  judge; 
while  on  the  other  hand  lie  may  properly  use  what  is  coble 
and  worthy  in  the  character  described,  to  influence  the  tem- 
per of  his  age.  Where  this  principle  fails,  the  work  can  only 
prove  a  dull  and  heavy  chronicle,  and  the  reader  will  soon 
be  wearied  with  the  details  of  facts,  the  internal  connection 
of  which  is  not  perceptible.  The  narrative  of  mere  out- 
ward  eventscan  never  give  the  wished-fof  harmony  to  bio- 


author's  preface.  xix 

graphical  materials.  Were  this  not  the  case,  the  present 
biography  might  have  been  divided  into  two  distinct  parts 
or  fragments.  Thus  in  the  first  we  might  have  shown 
Calvin  engaged  in  the  founding  of  his  church,  and  strug- 
gling with  the  papacy ;  and  in  the  second,  the  progress  of 
his  conflict  with  the  Catholic  church,  and  his  resistance 
to  the  Protestant  false  teachers,  whose  errors  disturbed  him 
in  the  early  part  of  his  career,  but  to  a  much  less  degree. 
This  is  the  division  adopted  by  Planck  in  his  '  Geschichte 
des  Protestantischen  Lehrbegriffs.'  But  such  a  plan,  in  the 
present  instance,  would  have  exhibited  neither  the  individ- 
uality of  the  man,  nor  the  power  of  the  spirit  by  which  he 
was  animated. 

I  have  adopted  therefore  another  division,  as  more  cor- 
rect and  impressive,  and  as  more  intimately  harmonizing 
with  the  course  of  the  reformer's  life.  Three  main  acts  are 
clearly  discernible  in  his  career;  three  fundamental  ideas, 
or  conflicts,  which  the  Spirit  of  God  made  it  his  duty  to 
pursue  ;  and  which  were  so  closely  connected,  that  the  one 
could  not  but  follow  as  a  consequence  of  the  other. 

1.  In  the  first  part  of  his  life  he  won  the  victory  for  his 
faith,  which  ever  remained  the  same,  but  is  seen  at  its  highest 
culminating  point  in  the  second  edition  of  the  '  Institutes.' 

2.  This  firm  faith  taught  him  to  endeavor  to  frame 
such  a  government  and  form  of  discipline  for  the  church, 
as  might  secure  its  life,  its  holy  evangelical  life,  and  plant 
it  permanently  in  the  community.  Hence  his  Presbyterian 
form  of  church  rule,  and  the  system  of  discipline  which 
reached  its  height  in  the  institution  of  a  moral  tribunal, 
and  in  the  practice  of  excommunication. 

3.  But  to  secure  perpetuity  for  its  faith  and  discipline, 
the  unity  of  the  church  itself,  and  the  objects  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, must  be  protected.     Hence  the  severe  conflict 


xx  author's  preface. 

which  Calvin  carried  on  against  such  false  teachers  as  Cas- 
tellio,  Westphal,  and  others.  This  conflict  reached  its 
height  in  the  proceedings  against  Servetus.  The  funda- 
mental idea  of  the  unity  of  the  church  wrought  upon  him 
to  the  last  moment  of  his  life,  and  he  commended  it  to  his 
brethren  with  his  dying  breath. 

Tims  there  were  three  several  objects  for  which  Calvin 
severally  strove  in  the  three  diiferent  ])eriods  of  his  life. 
They  all  indeed  engaged  his  attention,  more  or  less,  from 
first  to  last ;  he  was  anxious,  for  example,  at  the  very  begin- 
ning of  his  course,  for  the  unity  of  the  church.  But  the 
three  propositions  whieh  he  solved,  or  the  three  conflicts  in 
which  lie  was  mainly  concerned,  may  be  regarded  as  so 
man)'  centres  around  which  all  the  various  circumstances 
of  his  life  may  be  conveniently  grouped. 

In  the  preface  to  the  second  volume  of  his  work,  Dr. 

Henry  expresses  his  satisfaction  that  the  prejudice 

against  Calvin  is  evidently  declining.    The  venerable 

Dr.  M'Crie  was  engaged  at  the  time  of  his  death  on 

a  Life  of  the  reformer ;  and  Mignet,  the  author  of  the 

History  of  the  French  Revolution,  has  written  a  work 

on  Calvin  and  the  Reformation. 

It  is  gratifying  to  behold  even  the  darker  side  of  his 

character,  and  to  study  him,  as  he  Mould  Luther,  not  in 

the  ideal,  but  as  he  actually  was.     It  is  cause  for  rejoicing 

indeed  that  the  Lutheran  church  itself,  which  formerly 

entertained  such  enmity  to  Calvin,  now  honors  him  as  a 

brother  and  ally,  and  at  the  late  great  Reformation-festival 

in  Denmark,  expressed  itself  as  freely  acknowledging  a 

unit)    of  -pi lit  in  both  Confessions.     Convinced  of  this 

unit),  I  have  treated  Calvin  as  a  necessary  central  point 

in  the  development  of  the  Reformation. 

Ju<t  six  years  were  allowed  to  pass  after  the  publication 


author's   PREFACE.  XXI 

of  the  second  volume  of  this  work,  before  the  third 
appeared.  This  period  was  employed  by  the  author 
in  the  collection  and  careful  examination  of  materials 
for  the  concluding  portion  of  the  reformer's  history. 
Dr.  Henry,  in  his  third  preface,  speaks  as  follows : — 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  form  which  the  Antichris- 
tian  tendencies  of  Calvin's  age  assumed,  and  to  compare  it 
with  that  in  which  they  at  present  appear.  The  aspect  of 
things  becomes  every  year  more  threatening.  This  is  the  case 
in  respect  both  to  the  pretensions  of  the  papal  church,  and 
the  old  superstition  which  we  see  reviving  with  unexpected 
and  artful  power ;  and  no  less  so  in  regard  to  the  extrav- 
agant admiration  of  intellectual  ability,  which  is  ready  to 
deny  the  living  God  that  it  may  deify  itself.  The  elements 
of  infidelity  are  all  in  operation ;  but  the  true  and  heroic 
faith  of  the  Reformers  will  furnish  weapons  for  him  who 
keeps  the  field  to  the  last.  As  the  middle  ages  terminated 
with  the  Reformation,  and  decided  a  great  question,  so  will 
the  approaching  age  determine  which  shall  rule,  the  old  lie 
with  its  deceits  and  intrigues,  or  the  truth  which  shall 
make  us  free.  The  Reformation  began  a  work  which  must 
be  completed.  The  old  cobweb  of  Jesuitism,  which  has 
been  again  cast  over  us,  must  be  torn  asunder.  The 
Evangelical  church  must  reach  its  lofty,  apostolic  aim. 
Even  the  Catholic  church,  as  before  intimated,  has  not 
been  wholly  unbenefited  by  the  Reformation  ;  and  we  ex- 
tend the  hand  of  brotherhood  to  many  in  that  sister-com- 
munity, who  unwillingly  foster  error,  because  they  sympa- 
thize with  us  in  the  desire  for  evangelical  truth.  We  know 
that  they  believe  in  the  same  Lord  ;  and  those  only  ought 
to  be  regarded  as  adversaries  who  desire  not  the  truth,  but 
continue,  though  among  us,  in  the  circle  of  Antichristian 
unbelief.     It  is  against  these,  and  not  the  former,  that  we 


XXII  author's  preface. 

direct  our  attack.  The  papal  church,  as  such,  witti  its  pre- 
tensions to  the  lordship  of  the  world,  and  the  unrighteous 
means  which  it  employs  to  accomplish  its  purpose,  is  pre- 
paring destruction  for  itself.  The  higher  its  claims,  the 
more  sudden  and  certain  will  be  its  fall ;  because  it  thus 
stands  opposed  in  its  hostile  inflexibility  to  the  entire,  open, 
free,  and  Christian  culture  of  the  world.  And  thus  will  it 
be  also  with  the  hollow  unbelief  which  prevails  among  us ; 
for  what,  ultimately,  can  Antichristianity  in  its  falsehood 
do,  but  prepare  a  triumph  for  the  truth  ?  But  victory  must 
be  preceded  by  a  conflict ;  and  hence  it  seemed  to  me,  that 
at  a  period  like  the  present  it  might  be  useful  to  exhibit, 
supported  by  proper  documents,  the  life  of  a  man  who 
proved  himself  so  strong  an  enemy,  not  to  the  Christian 
Catholic  church  in  itself,  but  to  the  corrupt  spirit  which 
holds  the  papal  church  in  bonds,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
the  licentious  demon  of  pantheism. 

The  concluding  portion  of  this  work  will,  I  trust,  tend 
to  remove  the  false  impressions  which  exist  respecting  Cal- 
vin's zeal  for  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  and  his  conduct 
in  regard  to  Servetus.  Generally  speaking,  candid,  en- 
lightened minds  judge  him  correctly :  the  bigoted  and  un- 
it istructed  retain  their  prejudices  against  him,  and  speak  of 
his  cruelty  and  narrow-heartedness;  probably  because  they 
have  never  been  able  to  place  themselves  in  his  times  and 
circumstan* 

1 1  is  only  after  a  considerable  period  that  I  have  been 
abje  to  1  >ring  this  work  to  a  conclusion.  This  will  account 
for  its  wanting  that  symmetry  of  parts,  which  I  would  fain 
have  given  it,  but  found  it  impossible,  as  fresh  materials 
flowed  in  upon  me. 


CONTENTS. 


PAET  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Pajre, 


State  of  the  Church  at  Calvin's  first  appearance. — Progress  of  Re- 
ligious Opinion  in  England. — Italy. — Germany,  ....       1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Calvin's  childhood. — Studies. — Early  conversion. — First  labors,         .     21 


CHAPTER  III.    , 

The  Work  on  the  Soul's  Sleep,  entitled  *  Psychopannychia.' — The 
Anabaptists,      ..........     41 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Calvin  endeavors  to  convert  Francis  I. — Persecution  in  France. — 
Calvin's  '  Institutes,' .........     48 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  First  Edition  of  Calvin's  « Institutes,' C9 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Reformation  in  Switzerland,  particularly  in  Geneva, .  .         .8*7 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Calvin  in  Italy. — His  introduction  to  the  Duchess  of  Ferrara. — His 
residence  at  her  Court, 99 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Page 

Calvin's  arrival  in  Geneva. — Calvin,  Farel,  and  Viret. — Their  rela- 
tion to  each  other, 104 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Calvin's  first  struggle  in  Geneva. — The  year  1537. — Address  of 
the  Genevese  Consistory  to  the  Preachers  of  Zurich.  —  The 
Genevese  Preachers  to  those  of  Bern. — Calvin  to  Bullinger  and 
others,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .111 

CHAPTER  X. 
Calvin  in  Strasburg,       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .134 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Sadolet, 147 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Journey  to  Frankfort. — First  interview  with  Melancthon, .        .         .  155 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Calvin's  Treatise  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  .        .         .         .         .         .167 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Second  Edition  of  the  'Institutes;'  and  Calvin  s  matured  theo- 
logical character, 182 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Puhlication  of  Calvin's  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
— Exetretical  talent  of  Calvin, 218 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Scriptures  translated  into  French, 226 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Calvin  at  the  Diet  of  Worms  and  Ratishone. — He  becomes  the 
friend  of  Melancthon,         ........  230 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Page. 
Calvin's  poetry. — A  letter  of  condolence  addressed  to  a  father,       .  241 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Calvin's  return  to  Geneva. — Applications  made  to  Strasburg. — 
Farel's  severe  language  on  the  subject. — Calvin's  personal  dread 
of  the  change. — Calvin's  inner  life  at  this  period,         .         .         .  24G 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Characteristics  of  Calvin. — His  marriage. — Domestic  life. — Poverty 
and  moderation. — Peculiarities  of  his  mind  and  temper,       .         .  256 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Calvin's  love  of  truth,  the  fountain  of  his  inner  life. — His  sense 
of  piety. — Struggles  and  extraordinary  nature  of  the  two  Re- 
formers,   ...........  297 


PART  II. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Introductory   remarks. — Calvin   necessary  as  a  central  point  in  the 
development  of  the  Reformation,        ......  319 

CHAPTER  II. 
Calvin's  first  arrival  at  Geneva,       ......  329 

CHAPTER  III. 
Calvin  a  Theocrat, 348 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Calvin  as  a  Legislator, 354 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Page. 

Calvin    the  Founder    of  an   Ecclesiastical    Constitution. — Common 

principles  of  reform  adopted  by  him. — His  principles  of  Church 

discipline,        ..........  365 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Remarks  on  the  principles  adopted  by  Calvin  in  the  foundation  of 
the  Genevese  Church,      ........  387 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Calvin's  Catechism. — His  Liturgical  Order. — Outward  Worship:  its 
relation  to  the  Arts. — Psalm-singing  in  the  Reformed  Churches. 
— Calvin's  excess  in  reform :  compared  with  Vincentius  de 
Paula, '  .         .409 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Calvin's  pastoral  labors. — Characteristic  of  his  practical  efforts. — 
His  laborious  life. — His  epistolary  correspondence. — Calvin  as  a 
Preacher,         .         .         . 422 

CHAPTER  IX. 

( 'ulvin's  general  activity. — He  attacks  the  Catholics. — Pope  Paul  III. 
— Writes  against  Pi<rhius  on  Free  Grace. — Melancthon. — The 
Council  of  Trent,    .         . .475 

Appendix, 515 


PART    I. 


LIFE  AID  TIMES  OF  CALVIN. 


CHAPTEE  I.    a.d.  1509—1531. 

STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  CALVIn's  FIRST  APPEARANCE. — 
PROGRESS  OF  RELIGIOUS  OPINION  IN  ENGLAND. — ITALY. — 
GERMANY. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Calvin  began  to  exercise  some 
degree  of  influence  about  the  year  1530.  He  was  born  in  1509. 
Luther,  then  twenty-five  years  old,  was  appointed  just  a  year 
before  this  to  the  professorship  at  Wittenberg.  When  the  Ref- 
ormation commenced  in  1517,  Calvin  was  a  boy  of  eight  years, 
and  he  had  reached  his  tenth  year  when  Charles  of  Spain  was 
elected  emperor  of  Germany. 

The  state  of  the  church  in  that  country  under  the  papacy  is 
thus  strikingly  described  in  the  sermons  of  the  pious  master 
Mathesius :  "I  can  well  remember  that  through  the  whole  of 
my  youth, — for  till  my  twenty-fifth  year  I  was  in  bondage  to 
popery, — I  heard  nothing  in  the  pulpit  of  the  ten  command- 
ments, the  Lord's  prayer,  or  baptism.  Of  the  absolution,  or 
consolation  which  one  enjoys  through  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  I  never,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  heard  one  word 
mentioned  till  I  came  to  Wittenberg.  I  cannot  remember  to 
have  met  with   any  printed  or  written  exposition  of  the  cate- 

vol.  i. — 1 


2  STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    ENGLAND.  [CHAP.  I. 

chism  among  the  papists ;  but  I  read  in  my  youth,  by  the  year 
together,  all  sorts  of  legends  Bnd  trifling  books  of  devotion."* 

In  Italy,  Germany  was  regarded  before  the  Reformation  with 
utter  contempt,  and  it  was  said  of  that  country,  as  of  Nazareth 
by  the  Jews,  "Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  it?"  Thus  the 
pure  spirit  of  life  had  time  to  work  its  way.  A  deep  religious 
feeling  possessed  the  German  people.  Six  princes  protested 
against  the  decree  at  Speyer,  which  prohibited  their  embracing 
the  evangelical  doctrine ;  and  by  the  year  1530,  the  reformers 
had  solemnly  expounded  their  system  of  belief  before  the  diet  at 
Augsburg.  This  movement  may  be  regarded  as  a  turning-point 
in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  That  which  had  been  hid 
in  darkness  for  centuries  was  then  brought  into  the  open  light  of 
day.  It  is  well  known  how  Luther's  soul  was  agitated  at  this 
time :  daily  did  he  struggle,  hour  after  hour,  in  prayer.  That 
the  emperor  himself  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
these  circumstances,  we  learn  from  the  account  given  by  Mathe- 
sius.  Having  received  a  present  from  the  chapter  at  Augsburg, 
he  thus  expresses  himself:  "You  should  pray  for  me  to  the 
Almighty  as  for  a  poor  sinner,  that  he  may  give  me  his  holy 
spirit  to  instruct  me  as  to  what  it  may  be  possible  for  me  to  do  in 
this  affair."t 

It  may  be  easily  conceived  how  the  intelligence,  which,  spread- 
ing from  Germany,  now  resounded  in  other  lands,  and  the  heroic 
movement  of  the  Germans  themselves,  were  likely  to  produce  a 
general  excitement.  Calvin  was  then  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
one  years,  but  possessing  an  early-matured  and  awakened  mind< 
The  first  victory  was  won  :  the  combatants  were  weary  :  a  new 
champion  was  needed. 

Such  a  turning-point  in  history  should  be  minutely  observed. 
So  also  should  the  fulness  of  those  circumstances  of  every  kind 
which  are  brought  about  by  Providence,  the  lever  which  must  set 
them  in  motion,  in  order  to  subdue  the  unbelieving  and  haughty 
will  of  man.  This  may  teach  us  how  many  sacrifices  are  neces- 
sary, and  how  much  the  human  heart  must  be  strengthened  to 
give  new  life  to  the  church. 

Our  own  age  is  excited  by  forebodings.  Not  insignificant 
was  the  epoch  out  of  which  we  have  just  passed, — that  period  of 
apostasy  from  the  Gospel.     And  the  sea  of  the  present  time  is 

*  Mathe9ius  :    Luther's  Anfangslehre,  <fcc.  1621.     The  author  quotes  from  the  edi- 
tion published  in  1817,  at  the  commemoration  of  the  Reformation. 
f  ilathesius,  p.  37. 


A.D.  1509-31.]      STATE    OP    THE    CHURCH    IN    ENGLAND.  3 

still  moved  by  the  storm  which  then  plunged  so  many  into  the 
abyss.  A  nobler  thought  has  now  found  expression, — the  con- 
version of  the  heathen  ;  a  sublime  design,  with  the  fulfilment  of 
which  is  probably  connected  the  new  development  of  human 
culture.  Not  insignificant  are  the  signs  of  the  times  : — the  civi- 
lization of  America,  still  in  the  vigor  of  nature ; — the  discoveries 
made  in  the  hitherto  unknown  regions  of  Africa  ; — the  fall  of  the 
Mussulman  kingdom  !  In  Europe,  new  strength  displays  itself 
in  every  province  of  life ;  more  especially  in  the  church  ;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  a  secret  antichristian  power,  and  the  love  of 
licentiousness,  oppose  themselves  to  these  signs  of  improvement 
with  ever-increasing  might. 

France  and  Germany  were  foremost  in  the  struggle  of  regen- 
eration ;  in  the  conflict  for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  We 
must  thank  Spain  for  the  discovery  of  a  new  hemisphere,  and 
Italy  for  the  restoration  of  learning  and  the  arts  ;  but  France, 
from  the  earliest  times,  has  been  the  guardian  of  evangelical 
truth,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses ;  and  in 
Germany,  the  light  has  broken  upon  us  through  Huss,  Wessel 
and  Luther. 

If  we  now  inquire  what  was  the  state  of  the  church  in  Eng- 
land, we  shall  find  that  at  this  time  (1509 — 1530)  it  still  enjoyed 
but  little  of  the  pure  light.  The  Reformation  did  not  assume 
in  that  country  the  noble  and  exalted  character  which  it  bore  in 
Germany,  France  and  Switzerland.  Wickliff  indeed  had  been 
the  precursor  of  better  times ;  but  the  light  was  soon  troubled : 
there  was  now  a  blood-thirsty  monarch  ;  and  with  him  a  hesitat- 
ing reformer.  Henry  VIII.  was  so  blind,  so  impure  an  instru- 
ment of  the  grace  of  God,  that,  however  great  the  work  effected 
through  him,  we  can  only  contemplate  his  rude  influence  with  a 
feeling  of  distress.  Not  only  are  the  scenes  presented  in  the 
history  of  that  period  full  of  horror,  but  the  truth  is  seen  slowly 
working  out  its  way,  and  still  oppressed  by  the  remaining  half 
of  Catholicism. 

It  is  well  known  how  king  Henry,  inspired  by  theological 
vanity,  ventured  to  enter  the  lists  with  Luther.  He  wrote 
against  his  book  on  the  Babylonish  captivity,  in  which  the  re- 
former assailed  the  doctrine  of  the  seven  sacraments,  and  de- 
fended them.  This  work  was  gratefully  received  by  Leo  X. 
He  offered  every  one  who  should  read  it,  an  indulgence  for  ten 
years,  and  gave  the  king  himself  the  title  of  'Defender  of  the 
Faith.'     Luther's  haughty  '  Answer'  to  the  king's  treatise  is  well 


4  STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    ENGLAND.  [cHAP.   I. 

known.  Henry  suppressed  in  his  kingdom  every  spark  of  pure 
doctrine  ;  but  the  German  writings  were  still  read  at  Oxford  and 
Cambridge.  Tindal  also,  in  company  with  Frith,  translated  the 
Bible.  The  New  Testament  was  published  at  Antwerp  in  1526. 
Tindal,  the  apostle  of  England,  as  well  as  his  friend,  perished 
some  time  after  in  the  flames. 

Thomas  More,  the  chancellor,  who  so  fiercely  persecuted  the 
new  doctrine,  was  a  zealous  patron  of  the  sciences,  and  thence 
became,  contrary  to  his  own  will,  a  promoter  also  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. He  was  an  enemy  to  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages. 
But  it  was  not  allowed  him  to  pass  the  steps  of  knowledge  and 
culture  which  he  himself  had  laid.  Contented  with  having  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  new  spiritual  discipline, — for  an  instructed, 
social  life,  as  Erasmus  had  done  in  Germany,  he  was  ignorant  of 
that  higher  species  of  life,  which  the  word  of  God  bestows  with- 
out the  aid  of  science  ;  and  when  the  Reformation  triumphed  in 
England,  he  died  for  the  old  belief. 

Henry  remained  subject  to  Rome  till  1527 ;  when  Divine 
Providence  employed  the  passions  of  this  heathen  to  break  open 
the  door  for  truth.  Queen  Catharine  of  Arragon  had  been  mar- 
ried to  Arthur,  the  brother  of  Henry,  after  whose  death  she  was 
married  to  the  latter.  But,  influenced  probably  by  his  love  for 
Anne  Boleyn,  the  king  desired  a  divorce,  alleging  as  his  motive, 
the  injury  done  through  this  marriage  to  his  tender  conscience. 
He  did  not  succeed  with  the  pope,  because  Catharine  of  Arragon 
was  aunt  of  the  emperor.  Cranmer,  in  order  to  flatter  the  king, 
advised  that  the  several  universities  should  be  recpaired  to  give 
their  opinion  on  the  question  ;  and  this  was  actually  done  in  the 
year  1530. 

Most  of  the  theologians  declared  themselves  against  the  mar- 
riage of  the  king  with  the  widow  of  his  brother, — Zwingli, 
CEcolampadius,  the  French  universities,* — because  the  law  of 
Moses  was  not  annulled  by  the,  Apostles.  Luther's  own  remark 
was,  that  the  king  would  be  guilty  of  a  greater  sin  by  dissolving 
the  existing  marriage,  because  he  would  thereby  fix  upon  himself 
and  his  wife  the  perpetual  stain  of  incest. 

In  the  year  1531  the  clergy  declared  the  king  head  and  de- 
fender of  the  church  of  England.  This  was  the  first  step  towards 
a  separation  from  Rome.  The  following  year,  Henry  married 
Anne  Boleyn.     In   1533    parliament  proclaimed  England  inde- 

*  Schrockli,  Ref.  Geschichte,  t.  ii.  s.  53S. 


A.D.  1509-31.]       STATE    OFTHE    CHURCH    IN    ENGLAND.  5 

pendent  of  the  papal  chair,  and  Cranmer  pronounced  sentence 
against  the  validity  of  the  king's  early  marriage.  Thus  was  the 
great  breach  effected  for  all  future  times. 

Burnet  speaks  of  Calvin's  subscription  as  appended  to  the 
formal  opinion  delivered  by  the  theologians :  this  is  found 
among  his  epistles.*  Schrockh  thinks  that  the  letter,  which  is 
without  date,  was  written  later,  as  Calvin  at  the  time  of  the  con- 
troversy was  very  young,  and  that  it  is  cited  erroneously  by  Bur- 
net. It  may  however  be  answered,  that  Calvin  in  the  year  1530 
had  acquired  some  influence,  and  that  when  the  academies  at 
Orleans  and  Bourges  were  appealed  to,  he  might  as  a  jurist  and 
theologian  be  asked  to  give  his  opinion,  it  being  well  known  that 
he  studied  in  those  schools,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  extra- 
ordinary ability.  But  it  is  also  possible  that  it  was  only  some 
private  friend  who  wished  him  to  state  his  sentiments  on  the  sub- 
ject. Burnet  supposes  that  Grynreus  did  so.  To  this  view  of  the 
circumstance  it  may  be  objected,  that  Calvin  addresses  the  king 
himself.  Thus,  in  answering  the  question,  whether  it  be  lawful 
for  a  man  to  marry  the  widow  of  his  deceased  brother,  he  says, — 
"  God's  command  is  clear.  They  err  who  suppose,  that  it  is  only 
so  long  as  the  man  lives,  that  his  brother  is  prohibited  from  mar- 
rying the  wife,  in  case  of  her  repudiation, — Levit.  xviii.  16.  God 
forbids  the  marriage  of  a  man  with  the  wife  of  his  father,  uncle, 
son,  nephew.  Of  the  wife  of  a  brother  he  speaks  in  the  same  way 
as  of  the  others.!  Whence  then  has  the  error  arisen  of  supposing 
that  this  connection  is  allowed  ?  From  Deut.  xxv.  5,  where  God 
directs  that,  if  a  man  die  without  children,  his  brother  should 
marry  the  widow  of  him  that  is  dead.  But  the  name  of  brother 
was  applied  by  the  Hebrews  to  all  near  relations.  Thus  the  law 
which  commanded  the  marriage  of  the  widow,  was  obligatory 
upon  all  relations  who  were  not  legally  hindered  from  obeying  it ; 
and,  therefore,  the  two  laws  are  not  opposed  to  each  other.  For 
God  has  not  intended  to  approve  in  one  place  those  incestuous 
marriages  which  in  another  he  condemns.  Boaz  married  Ruth, 
who  had  been  married  to  his  relation.  The  law,  therefore,  had 
reference  to  all  the  relations."  The  laws  of  the  Old  Testament 
are  not  abrogated  by  the  New  Testament.  Both  the  law  of  na- 
ture and  the  Romish  law  equally  forbid  such  marriages.     In  the 

*  Ed.  Laus.  15*76.  Ep.  384.     Not  as  Burnet  says,  380. 

|  "  Itaque  si  fas  non  est  patris  vel  filii,  patrui  vel  nepotis  uxorem  habere  in  matri- 
monii), unum  et  idem  de  fratris  uxore  sentire  convenit."  Consequently,  according  to 
Calvin's  view,  Henry's  marriage  was  unlawful. 


6  STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    ITALY.  [CHAP.  I. 

concluding  passage,  he  says, — "  I  will  now  address  myself  to 
this  very  renowned  and  exalted  prince,  and  earnestly  pray  that 
he  may  submit  himself,  and  all  his  feelings,  to  the  word  of 
God." 

Closely  connected  with  our  subject  is  the  consideration  of  the 
state  of  Italy,  France,  and  Switzerland,  with  which  Calvin  was 
brought  into  the  mo9t  intimate  relation.  It  was  not,  indeed,  his 
fault  that  these  countries  did  not  at  once  become  protestant. 
Those  who  had  been  driven  into  exile  for  the  sake  of  the  truth 
flocked  from  all  parts  to  Geneva,  to  see  and  hear  the  man  who 
had  first  awakened  them,  and  established  their  churches. 

In  Italy,*  the  times  of  Arnold  of  Brescia,  the  scholar  of  Abelard  ; 
societies  like  those  of  the  apostolic  orders  of  Segarelli  and  Dulzen, 
which  commanded  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures ;  noble  and 
literary  phenomena,  as  in  the  case  of  Dante,  show  clearly  how  the 
early  improvement  of  that  country  took  a  determined  antipapistic 
tendency.  The  Reformation  would  soon  have  pervaded  the  whole 
land,  had  not  the  papal  chair  defended  with  unwonted  prudence 
the  still  ever  deeply-rooted  ideal  of  a  spiritual  sovereignty,  and, 
still  more,  had  the  character  of  the  people  been  as  healthy  as  in 
Germany.  But  whilst  the  two  Saxonies  eagerly  embraced  the 
party  of  Luther,  the  people  of  Florence  delighted  themselves  with 
persecuting  the  noble  Savonarola,  and  in  seeing  him  committed 
to  the  flames,  at  the  same  time  overwhelming  with  their  adula- 
tions and  shouts  of  joy  such  a  pontiff  as  Alexander  VI.  The 
minds,  however,  of  a  better  class  were  penetrated  by  the  trnth. 
Arnold  of  Brescia  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  first  martyrs  in 
Italy.  It  was  recollected  how  the  holy  Bernard  himself  had  in- 
dignantly reproved  the  vices  of  the  papacy.  Men  read  Dante, 
who,  a  true  reformer,  made  war  against  the  dominion  of  Anti- 
christ, and  summoned  the  wicked  fathers  of  the  church  to  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ.  They  read  Bocaccio,  the  first  of  prot- 
estant satirists,  who  opened  the  way  for  Erasmus  and  other  kin- 
dred spirits.  But  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Bible  appears  to  have 
found  few  friends,  the  educated  part  of  the  people  being  chiefly 
employed  in  the  study  of  mere  philosophy. 

The  able  biographer  of  Peter  Martyr,t  dividing  the  more  en- 
lightened portion  of  the  community  into  three  classes,  thus  speaks 
of  the  intellectual  state  of  Italy  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  : — 

*  Respecting  Italy,  see  Schrockh,  Th.  i.  s.  19,  Th.  ii.  s.  770;  and  M'Crie's.  Refor- 
mation in  Italy. 

f  By  F.  C.  Schlosser.     Heidelberg,  1809,  p.  366. 


A.D.  1509-31.]       STATE   OF    THE   CHURCH   IN   ITALY.  7 

"  There  were  those  who  cherished  Platonism,  and  with  the  help 
of  Iamblichus  and  Plotinus  knew,  while  living  in  the  world,  how 
to  exalt  themselves  above  the  world.  Another  party,  sinking 
into  heresy,  could  not  distinguish  between  those  who  observed 
few,  and  those  who  observed  many  ceremonies ;  and  cared  not 
whether  the  people,  regarded  by  Plato  with  such  contempt  be- 
cause unworthy  of  philosophy,  had  a  creed  more  or  less  com- 
prehensive. 

"  Marsilius  Ficinus  and  Pico  of  Mirandola,  to  name  only  these, 
afford  proofs  in  every  part  of  their  writings,  that  they  were  ready 
to  explain  all  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  even  those  most  incon- 
sistent with  Scripture,  as  signs  and  symbols.  The  Aristotelians, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  long  held  their  system  in  preference 
to  the  truth,  and  obstinately  defended  that  which  was  most  un- 
tenable. 

"The  third  party,  which  employed  itself  altogether  in  the  study 
of  the  sciences  and  the  fine  arts,  and  laughed  at  the  blind  super- 
stition of  the  people,  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  life,  and  rebelled  at 
the  expense  of  a  holy  simplicity ;  regarding  virtue  and  religion 
as  valuable  to  the  state,  and  as  something  which  the  better- 
instructed  might  make  use  of,  but  did  not  absolutely  need. 

"  Thus  the  ordinary  methods  of  study,  pursued  by  the  devoted 
friends  of  science,  tended  rather  to  make  them  refined  heathens, 
and  to  lead  them  to  regard  Christianity  in  the  same  light  as  the 
great  men  of  Rome  in  the  later  days  of  the  republic  viewed  their 
state  religion,  than  to  render  them  capable  of  deriving  from  the 
study  of  Scripture  nourishment  for  heart  and  mind.  There  still 
existed,  indeed,  in  Italy  some  remains  of  the  old  sects,  whose  ob- 
ject it  was  to  restore  Christianity  to  its  original  purity  ;  but  their 
poverty,  their  want  of  culture,  the  absence  of  all  learned  institu- 
tions among  them,  prevented  their  exercising  any  influence  in  an 
age  when  learning  was  universally  required." 

But  Peter  Martyr's  history  affords  striking  evidence  of  the  sus- 
ceptibility of  Italian  minds  to  the  pure  doctrine.  He  was  the 
son  of  a  very  distinguished  nobleman,  Stephen  Vermili,  who, 
as  an  admirer  of  the  principles  which  Savonarola  had  preached 
at  Florence,  cherished  a  bitter  hatred  to  monks  and  monkery. 
Picus,  count  of  Mirandola,  also  published  an  apology  for  Savo- 
narola. Laurentius  Valla,  who  on  account  of  his  sentiments 
Buffered  banishment,  and  many  others,  had  already  appeared  as 
adversaries  to  the  papacy.  Machiavelli  himself,  who  was  cer- 
tainly well  qualified  to  judge  of  the  state  of  his  country,  looked 


8  STATE    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    ITALY.  [CHAP.    I. 

forward  to  an  approaching-  convulsion.  "  The  most  remarkable 
indication,"  said  he,  il  of  the  near  overthrow  of  religion  is,  that 
the  nearer  the  people  are  to  Rome,  so  much  the  less  do  they 
show  any  signs  of  piety."  * 

The  reformation  of  the  head  and  members  was  become  a 
common  jest,  the  three  great  councils  of  Pisa,  Constance  and 
Basel  having  proved  so  utterly  fruitless.  The  assembly  at  Pisa 
in  1511  had  resolved  to  effect  something,  and  at  its  third  session 
it  determined  not  to  break  up  till  the  church  was  reformed  both 
in  doctrine  and  morals.  But  Julius  II. ,  in  order  to  dissolve  that 
of  Pisa,  convened  the  council  of  Lateran. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Leo  X.  ascended  the 
papal  throne.  Every  string  was  stretched  to  the  uttermost ;  and 
this  otherwise  noble  and  accomplished  Medicean  wished  in  his 
own  lovely  Italy  to  live  according  to  the  model  of  the  ancient 
heathenism  :  to  revel  in  the  arts,  since  he  felt  not  their  insuf- 
ficiency to  satisfy  the  human  soul ;  to  defend  himself  by  a  course 
of  skilful  policy,  because  he  could  not  perceive  that  the  truth  is 
far  more  powerful  than  politics.  Recognizing  neither  the  might 
nor  the  greatness  of  the  Germans,  hidden  as  it  was  under  a  rude 
exterior,  he  was  broken  like  a  weak  reed  in  the  storm-wind  awoke 
by  Luther.  In  1517  he  dissolved  the  council,  and  believed  that 
he  had  gained  the  victory.  But  this  dissolution  of  the  council 
was  only  the  signal  for  battle. 

At  this  time  Luther's  propositions  found  their  way  into  Italy, 
and  made  a  deep  impression  even  upon  the  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  entrance  of  Charles  of  Bourbon  with  the  German 
army  had  also  produced  a  powerful  effect.  Clement  VII.  was 
made  prisoner.  This  remarkable  circumstance  shook  the  whole 
country.  Rome  was  plundered  ;  the  pope  confined  in  the  castle 
of  St.  Angelo  (1527).  Sarpi  remarks,  that  many  who  regarded 
this  misfortune  as  a  divine  judgment  were  inclined  to  favor  the 
Reformation,  so  that  in  the  papal  territory  itself  sermons  were 
preached  against  the  Roman  cburch,  and  the  number  of  those 
who  called  themselves  Lutherans,  or  evangelicals,  increased  every 
day.  The  greatest  contempt  and  ridicule  were  heaped  upon  the 
papal  power  in  Rome;  but  it  was  remarked  that  the  German 
soldi*  is  conducted  themselves  with  greater  humanity  than  the 
catholic  Spaniards  and  Italians.  Protestantism  now  extended 
to  the  boundaries  of  Italy  and  Sicily. 

*  On  the  First  Decade  of  Livy,  lib.  i.  cap.  12. 


A.D.  1509-31.]       STATE    OF    THE   CHURCH    IN    ITALY.  9 

The  duchess  Renata  appeared  at  this  time,  and  formed  her 
court  at  Ferrara.  This  noble,  liberal-minded  princess,  who  her 
whole  life  through  was  the  guardian  of  protestantism,  deserves 
more  especial  notice  as  the  friend  of  Calvin.  Her  history  may 
be  told  in  few  words.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Louis  XII.  and 
of  Ann  of  Brittany.  Her  birth  took  place  in  the  same  year  as 
that  of  Calvin ;  and  while  still  a  child,  she  was  betrothed  to 
Charles,  the  future  emperor.  This  alliance  being  broken  off 
Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  distinguished  for  his  remarkable  capa- 
city, solicited  the  hand  of  the  princess,  and  would  have  borne  her 
from  southern  climes  to  the  sandy  north,  but  where  she  would 
still  have  found  some  kindred  souls.  The  union,  however,  did 
not  take  place.  France  feared  the  enlightened  views  of  the  pow- 
erful prince.  At  length  Hercules  II.  duke  of  Ferrara  espoused 
her.  He  was  a  weak  prince  ;  but  through,  this  marriage,  the 
Lord  afforded  for  the  present  a  protection  to  the  awakened  among 
the  Italians.  Renata's  sister  was  the  .wife  of  Francis  I.,  at  whose 
court  the  princess  was  early  inspired  with  the  love  of  science,  so 
ardently  patronized  by  Francis.  At  Ferrara  she  devoted  herself 
altogether  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  geometry,  astronomy  and 
the  languages  ;  and  as  in  earlier  times,  Johanna  of  Sicily  pro- 
tected Petrarca  and  Bocaccio ;  and  Lorenzo  di  Medici  the  exiled 
Greeks  ;  and  as  Leo  X.  delighted  to  see  himself  surrounded  by 
such  men  as  Bembo,  Sadoletus,  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael ; 
so  Renata  wished  to  assemble  around  her  men  of  free  and  capa- 
cious minds,  foremost  among  whom  was  the  learned  Morati, 
who  had  adopted  the  doctrine  of  the  reformers,  and  was  the  first 
of  those  obliged  to  save  themselves  by  flight.  His  noble  charac- 
ter induced  the  duchess  to  attach  him  to  her  court.  She  also 
educated  his  accomplished  daughter,  who  in  after  years  gave 
public  lectures  on  the  ancient  languages. 

Renata  was  now  occupied  with  the  thought  of  openly  decla 
ring  herself  in  favor  of  the  Reformation.  But  she  would  not 
leave  her  church,  without  having  gained  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  new  doctrine  :  she  therefore  studied  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  theology.  At  length  she  passed  over  ;  embracing  at 
first  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  so  revered  in  Italy,  but  afterwards 
that  of  Calvin,  to  which  she  finally  adhered.  Calvin  himself 
visited  her,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  when  he  was  driven  out  of 
France.  The  Italian  protestants  agreed  more  readily  with 
Zwingli  and  Calvin,  than  with  Luther ;  first,  because  the  Latin 
writings  of  the  former  were  more  readily  understood  by  them 


10  CIRCULATION    OF    LUTHER'S    WRITINGS.  [CHAP.  I. 

than  the  force  of  Luther's  German  ;  and,  secondly,  because  of  the 
contiguity  of  Switzerland  to  their  own  country. 

We  must  still  turn  our  attention  to  Italy.  In  order  to  make 
it  understood  how  rapidly  the  truth  was  spread,  we  may  remark, 
that  the  celebrated  printer,  John  Frobenius*,  at  Basel,  printed 
the  first  edition  of  Luther's  writings  in  the  year  1519,  and  in- 
formed Luther  that  he  had  sent  six  hundred  copies  to  France 
and  Spain.  At  Paris  they  were  read  even  by  the  Sorbonnists ; 
and  Calvi,  a  learned  bookseller  at  Pavia,  circulated  them  through 
the  whole  of  Italy.  At  Venice  Luther  was  read  with  still  more 
marked  delight.  The  Augustin  monks  at  Turin  also  circulated 
his  books.  His  exposition  of  '  Our  Father,'  and  his  Catechism, 
were  printed  ;  as  also  Melancthon's  '  Loci  Communes,'  and 
Martin  Bucer's  '  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,'  under  different 
names.  Antony  Brucioli  of  Florence  translated  the  Bible  into 
Italian  ;  and  the  New  Testament  appeared  at  Venice  in  the  year 
1530. 

Several  Italian  congregations  now  existed  ;  and  between  the 
years  1530-40,  public  assemblies  of  the  protestants  were  allowed 
in  Venice.  The  Venetians  still  continued  their  attachment  to 
Luther ;  but  when  he  wrote  to  his  followers  in  their  city,  with 
such  impetuosity  against  the  Zwinglians,  and  said,  "  The 
papists  are  rather  to  be  borne  with  than  these,"  the  Italians 
were  divided  into  two  parties  by  his  violent  views,  and  the 
protestant  cause  was  weakened.  Thence  also  it  happened  that 
the  Italians,  naturally  lively  and  subtle,  quickly  formed  new 
systems  and  sects  (as  for  example  the  Antitrinitarians,  who  had 
subsequently  so  much  to  do  with  Calvin),  and  were  in  conse- 
quence easily  attacked  and  overcome. 

The  Inquisition  exercised  the  greatest  prudence  in  its  wrath. 
No  open  display  was  allowed,  and  the  victims  of  its  fury 
perished  in  silence.  Thousands  of  protestants  fled,  and  formed 
communities  in  Switzerland,  especially  in  the  Grisons.  Paul 
III.  instituted  an  inquiry,  by  means  of  an  inquisitor,  against 
the  apostate  monks,  even  in  Ferrara  and  Modena.  Yet  one  of 
the  most  learned  prelates,  Sadoletus,  who  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  history  of  Calvin,  declared  that  he  would  not  employ 
his  authority,  but  would  spread  the  truth  by  means  of  Christian 
mildness.  Julius  III.  now  appeared  in  the  field  against  the 
friends  of  the  evangelical  doctrine.  Henry  II.  formed  a  league 
with  him,  to  compel  the  duchess  Renata  to  re-enter  the  catholic 

*  Schrdckh,  t.  L  8.  204  ;  t.  ii.  s.  110. 


A.D.  1509-31.]  FRANCE.  11 

church.  The  inquisitor  Oritz  was  sent  to  her.  He  endeav- 
ored, with  her  husband,  to  work  upon  her  feelings,  and  made 
every  offer  to  win  her  back  ;  but  in  vain.  She  was  consequently 
prohibited  from  continuing  to  educate  her  children  ;  and  all  prot- 
estants  were  banished  from  Ferrara.  Renata,  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  returned  to  France,  where  she  continued  to  protect 
the  protestants  during  the  fearful  persecutions  which  they  had  to 
endure,  till  the  year  1575,  when  she  died  at  Montargis,  without 
in  the  slightest  degree  belying  the  reformed  faith,  much  less  re- 
nouncing it.  She  lived  to  witness  the  horrible  scene  of  the  blood- 
feast  in  1572.  Her  history  consequently  is  closely  connected  with 
that  of  the  French  reformed  church. 

The  history  of  the  church  in  France  is  equally  interesting 
and  distressing ;  the  pure  evangelical  doctrine  having  there  car- 
ried on  a  perpetual  struggle,  and  having  often  been  on  the  point 
of  obtaining  the  victory  which  it  never  won.  It  may,  however, 
be  affirmed,  that  it  never  allowed  the  Gospel  to  be  altogether 
involved  in  darkness.  The  retrospect  is  interesting  at  the  pres- 
ent time  ;  for  this  great  struggle  seems  now,  through  the  re- 
cognized rights  of  the  evangelical  church,  to  have  been  brought 
to  a  conclusion. 

Who  does  not  honor  and  esteem  the  bold  preachers  of  the 
Albigenses,  whose  doctrine  some  would  so  willingly  charge  and 
pollute  with  Manichaeism?  Who  honors  and  esteems  not  Waldo 
and  his  associates,  who  succeeded  them?  If  we  cannot  indeed 
trace  historically  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Waldenses  to  the  old 
inhabitants  of  the  Piedmontese  valleys,  yet  is  there  great  historical 
probability,  that  a  pure  system  of  belief  has  constantly  existed  in 
those  regions  from  the  earliest  times. 

Powerful  parties,  at  a  later  period,  were  formed  in  France 
against  the  papacy.  They  were  often  boldly  supported  by  the 
princes,  and  the  authority  of  the  pope  was  altogether  set  at 
naught.  The  freedom  of  the  Gallican  church,  which  exalted  the 
authority  of  councils  above  that  of  the  pope,  had  already  estab- 
lished a  species  of  half-protestantism.  Men  of  liberal  minds  also 
arose,  as  D'Ailly,  Gerson.  Clemangis ;  and  yet  has  this  unhappy 
country  ever  fallen  a  victim  to  its  own  passions ;  and  hence 
the  evangelical  church  is,  to  this  day,  in  a  state  of  deplorable 
weakness. 

Louis  XII.,  a  noble  prince,  the  father  of  his  people,  resolutely 
resisted  the  papal  pretensions.  It  is  even  said,  that  he  had  a 
coin  struck   with    the   inscription,   Perdam   Babylonis    nomen. 


12  LEARNING  IN  FRANCE.  [dlAP.  I. 

With  how  little  fanaticism  he  acted  towards  the  so-named  here- 
tics, may  be  seen  from  the  following  narration  : — 

When  in  the  year  1501  he  made  a  journey  through  Dauphiny, 
some  of  the  nobility  prayed  him  to  clear  the  province  of  the 
Waldenses,  who  had  dwelt  from  time  immemorial  in  the  moun- 
tains. The  king  was  curious  to  learn  what  evil  they  had  com- 
mitted, and  sent  his  father  confessor  Parvi  to  visit  the  accused. 
So  favorable,  however,  was  the  information  which  Parvi  collected 
to  the  character  of  the  Waldenses,  that  the  king  exclaimed, 
"  They  are  better  Christians  than  we  are."  He  accordingly 
commanded  that  the  goods  which  had  been  taken  from  them 
should  be  restored,  and  that  the  acts  of  the  process  commenced 
against  them  should  be  cast  into  the  Rhone. 

Francis  I.  was  crowned  in  the  year  1515.*  History  is  unde- 
termined whether  to  praise  or  censure  him, — a  ruler  influenced 
only  by  his  passions  !  He  gave  up  the  pragmatic  sanction,  and 
concluded  with  the  pope  a  concordat.  He  loved  the  sciences ; 
and  carried  on  an  epistolary  correspondence  with  Erasmus,  who 
exercised  a  beneficial  influence  on  his  mind.  Many  men  of  great 
capacity  appeared  in  France  during  his  reign :  John  Du  Bellay ; 
William  Cop ;  William  Bude,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  fine 
genius,  and  who  established  a  large  academy  at  Paris,  were  num- 
bered among  his  friends.  Somewhat  later,  Ramus,  the  famous 
antagonist  of  the  Aristotelian  philosophy,  at  Paris  ;  Scaliger  at 
Thoulouse,  and  many  others,  gave  lustre  to  the  period ;  and 
subsequently,  the  instructors  of  Calvin,  Peter  Stella,  a  learned 
jurisconsult,  in  the  university  of  Orleans,  and  Melchior  Wolmar, 
a  German,  at  Bourges. 

Beza  mentions  in  his  Church  History  the  great  difficulty  at- 
tending the  introduction  of  the  sciences  into  France.  "  The 
Sorbonne,"  he  says,  "opposed  itself  to  all  instruction  with  such 
fury,  that,  if  wc  had  believed  our  masters,  to  study  Greek,  and 
to  pay  some  attention  to  Hebrew,  however  little,  was  one  of  the 
greatest  heresies  in  the  world."  These  people  were  no  theolo- 
gians. Of  Bude,  he  says,  "He  was  so  fortunate  in  his  erudition 
as  to  find  a  king  of  excellent  mind  and  a  great  lover  of  litera- 
ture, though  he  knew  only  his  mother  tongue.  Having  dedi- 
cated to  him  that  excellent  book,  '  Commentaries  on  the  Greek 
Language,'  he  persuaded  him   that  the  three  languages  should 

*  Francis  was  the  son  of  Charles  of  Orleans,  duke  of  Angouleme,  and  Louisa  of 
Savoy.  Louis,  seeing  his  restless  disposition  as  a  boy,  said  of  him,  "  Tliis  great  booby 
will  spoil  all." 


A.D.  1509-31.]  THE    QUEEN    OP    NAVARRE.  13 

be  studied  in  the  schools  and  universities  of  his  kingdom,  and 
that  he  ought  to  erect  a  magnificent  college  of  the  three  lan- 
guages." This,  indeed,  was  not  accomplished  ;  but  professors 
were  nominated.  "  God,"  says  the  zealous  Beza,  "  must  either 
by  miracle,  or  by  natural  means,  restore  to  us  the  knowledge  of 
languages,  that  we  may  be  able  again  to  read  the  superscription  in 
three  languages  on  the  cross  of  our  Lord." 

Theologians  soon  arose  in  France.  Jacob  Lefevre  d'Etaples, 
the  instructor  and  friend  of  Calvin,  prepared  the  way  for  him 
by  banishing  the  scholastic  philosophy,  expounding  Scripture, 
diffusing  the  knowledge  of  languages,  and  creating  a  love  for 
new  ideas.  In  the  year  1512  he  published  a  Commentary  on 
St.  Paul's  Epistles ;  in  1522  another  on  the  four  Gospels  ;  in 
]523  his  translation  of  the  Gospels  was  published  at  Paris  ;  and 
the  whole  Bible  in  1530  at  Antwerp.  How  this  translation  was 
used  we  shall  see  hereafter.  Beza  praises  Lefevre.*  He  was 
persecuted  by  the  Sorbonne  because,  after  a  long  struggle  against 
perverted  learning,  he  succeeded  in  restoring  the  proper  study  of 
philosophy  and  the  mathematics,  and  banished  that  of  the  schools. 

That  which  the  duchess  of  Ferrara  was  in  Italy,  Margaret,! 
the  sister  of  the  king,  wTas  at  the  same  time  in  France.  She  was 
born  at  Angouleme  in  1492,  and  became  the  wife  of  Charles  of 
Alencon.  A  worthy  woman,  and  endowed  with  great  prudence, 
she  afforded  no  slight  assistance  to  Francis  during  his  captivity 
in  Spain.  He  showed  her  remarkable  affection  ;  and  she,  and 
his  mistress  the  duchess  d'Etampes,  almost  induced  him  to  em- 
brace the  protestant  faith  ;  very  often,  at  least,  subduing  his  rage 
when  ready  to  break  out  against  the  reformed.  He  commonly 
called  her  his  darling.  She  contracted  a  second  marriage  with 
Henri  d'Albret,  king  of  Navarre ;  and  Johanna  d'Albret,  the  he- 
roic mother  of  Henry  IV.,  was  her  daughter. 

Margaret  loved  the  protestants  so  well,  that  she  explained  their 
principles  in  a  book,  entitled  '  Le  Miroir  de  l'Ame  Pecheresse,' 
and  which  wras  condemned  by  the  Sorbonne.     This  only  served 

*  On  his  Works,  p.  20,  n.  1. 

f  Her  works,  as  characteristic  of  the  period,  are: — l.'Nouvelles  de  la  Reine  de 
Navarre,'  in  the  style  of  Bocaccio.  2.  '  Les  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  Prin- 
cesses ;'  containing  '  Quatre  Mysteres  ou  Comedies  pieuses  et  deux  Farces.'  The 
holy  and  the  profane  are  here  mingled  together  with  curious  simplicity.  3.  '  The 
Triumph  of  the  Lamb.'  4.  '  Complaint  of  a  Prisoner'  (probably  Francis  in  Spain). 
She  also  composed  some '  Chansons  Spirituelles.'  But  her  most  celebrated  work  is 
'  Le  Miroir  de  l'Ame  Pecheresse.'  She  selected  as  her  device,  a  sunflower  turned 
towards  the  sun,  with  the  motto,  JVon  inferiora  secutus,  and  a  lily  with  two  pearls, 
Mirandum  natures  opus. 


14  THE    (iUEEN    OP    NAVARRE.  [CHAP.  I. 

to  give  greater  influence  to  her  decision  in  favor  of  the  reformed 
doctrines.  At  her  persuasion,  the  king  wrote  to  the  parliament 
on  behalf  of  many  learned  men,  who  were  persecuted  on  account 
of  their  belief.  Her  general  character  has  been  thought  deserv- 
ing of  the  highest  praise.  Of  her  poetical  talent  we  may  speak 
with  respect.  Her  manners  were  perfectly  pure  ;  but  her  verses 
are  written  with  a  naivete  which  sometimes  oversteps  the  bounds 
of  tenderness.* 

Fevre  d'Etaples,  spoken  of  above,  was  the  particular  friend  of 
this  queen.  He  lived  some  time  in  the  house  of  the  enlightened 
bishop  Briconnet ;  then  in  Strasburg,  still  fleeing  from  the  per- 
secution ;  and  lastly  in  Paris,  where  he  was  tutor  to  Charles, 
duke  of  Orleans,  the  third  son  of  Francis  I.  After  a  long,  agi- 
tated, and  very  useful  life  passed  in  unquiet  France,  Margaret 
took  him  in  1530  to  Nerac,  her  residence,  where,  after  seven 
years  of  tranquillity,  he  died  at  the  age  of  a  hundred.  As  char- 
acteristic of  the  times,  and  of  the  state  of  feeling  then  known 
in  France,  we  may  relate,  that  one  day  shortly  before  his  death  he 
broke  forth,  deeply  agitated,  into  a  flood  of  tears.  Being  asked 
by  the  queen  and  others  as  to  the  cause  of  his  distress,  Lefevre 
answered  sorrowfully,  that  he  could  not  help  reproaching  himself 
for  this, — that  while  he  had  imparted  to  so  many  believers  the 
pure  Gospel,  and  had  admonished  them  to  expose  their  life  for 
its  sake,  he  himself  was  dying  in  quiet,  and  had  hindered  him- 
self by  flight  from  sharing  in  that  glorious  confession.t  It  ap- 
pears from  his  life,  that  he  united  with  a  lofty  feeling  for  what  is 
good,  a  soft  and  yielding  character. 

In  1521  Luther  first  obtained  celebrity  in  France  through  the 

*  Beza  (Hist.  Eccles.  t.  L  5)  says  she  wa9  a  woman  of  excellent  understanding, 
and  raised  up  by  God  to  overthrow,  as  far  as  was  possible,  the  cruel  designs  of  A. 
du  Prat,  chancellor  of  France,  and  others  who  incited  the  king  against  the  so-called 
heretics. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  her  religious  poetry  from  '  Miroir  de  l'Ame  ? 
"  La  mort  est  chose  heureuse 
A  l'ame  que  de  luy  est  amoreuse  (de  Dieu). 
0  mort,  par  vous  j'espere  tant  d'honneur, 
Qu'a  deux  genoux  en  cry,  soupir  et  pleur  1 
Je  vous  requiers,  venez  hativement 
Et  mettez  fin  a  mon  gemissement. 
O  heureuses  ames,  filles  tres  saintes, 
En  la  cite  de  Jerusalem  jointes : 
Baissez  vos  yeux  par  miscration 
Et  regardez  ma  desolation  !" 
f  Hi9  works  are  : — 1.  '  Un  Traite  des  trois  Magdelaines.'     2.  'De  Duplici  et  Umca 
Magdalena  f  this   work  caused  him  some  uneasiness.     3.  '  Psalterium  Quintuplex.' 
4.  '  Commentarii  in  Psalmos,  Ecclesiastem,  Evangelia  et  Paulum.'    6.  '  Agones  Mar- 
tyrum  Mensis  Januarii.' 


A.D.  1509-31.]  CONGREGATION    AT    MEAUX.  15 

proceedings  of  the  Sorbonne,  which,  after  his  disputation  with 
Eck  at  Leipsig,  had  condemned  him  as  a  virulent  heretic.  Many 
of  his  writings  were  received  with  great  praise  in  the  country,  and 
some  of  them  were  translated  by  Louis  Berquin.  The  translator 
was  also  persecuted  by  the  Sorbonne,  and  more  particularly  be- 
cause he  circulated  Melancthon's  Manual.  According  to  Beza,* 
'  Antiluther,'  levelled  against  Luther,  was  also  written  and  pub- 
lished at  this  time. 

But  the  German  doctrines  were  firmly  rooted  in  every  part  of 
France.  Since  1521,  the  first  little  protestant  congregation  had 
been  established  at  Meaux,  where  the  bishop  of  the  city  allowed 
several  scholars  to  reside ;  among  whom  were  Lefevre  and 
George  Farel,  at  that  time  teacher  in  the  College  le  Moine  at 
Paris.  But  this  community  was  soon  dispersed.  Farel  removed 
to  Neufchatel  and  Geneva,  and  there  prepared  the  way  for  Cal- 
vin. The  queen  of  Navarre  protected  the  fugitives.  Still,  when 
the  preachers  began  to  fall  away,  and  Briconnet  himself  became 
weak,  the  Iambs  of  the  flock  did  not ;  for  this  little  church  of 
Meaux,  consisting  as  it  did  of  poor  mechanics,  afforded  through 
their  resolution  such  an  example  as  none  other  did,  and  became 
the  seed  of  many  more. 

The  first  martyr  at  this  period  was  John  Leclerc,  who  was 
apprehended  at  Meaux  in  1523,  because  he  had  affixed  to  the 
church  a  writing  against  indulgences.  He  was  publicly  whipped 
at  Paris,  and  branded.t  When  he  afterwards,  in  prosecution  of 
his  business,  removed  to  Metz,  he  there  also  planted  the  evan- 
gelical church,  but  after  a  year  was  taken  and  executed.  Not 
long  after,  the  young  Pawannes,  who  at  first  recanted,  but  re- 
pented bitterly  of  his  weakness,!  was  burnt  at  Paris,  and  bore 
his  sufferings  with  the  greatest  patience.  After  him  (that  is,  in 
1525)  perished  l'Hermite  de  Livry  before  Notre  Dame.  The 
great  bell  was  tolled  to  summon  the  people  to  the  execution  ;  and 
the  doctors  who  witnessed  the  constancy  with  which  he  bore  his 
sufferings,  proclaimed  that  he  was  a  wretch  whom  they  were  now 
giving  over  to  eternal  fire. 

It  was  about  this  time§  that  the  king  returned  from  his  cap- 
tivity. When  he  heard  that  the  Lutheran  heresy  was  continually 
on  the  increase,  and  it  was  whispered  to  him  that  this  had 

*  Hist.  Eccles.  t.  i.  p.  5. 

f  His  mother  looked  on  and  exclaimed,  Vive  Jesus  Christ,  et  ses  enseignes. 
i  "  De  quoi  se  repentant  peu  apres  avec  grands  regrets  et  soupirs." — Beza. 
§  Beza,  L  7. 


16  PERSECUTION    IN    FRANCE.  [CHAP.  I. 

drawn  upon  Fiance  the  anger  of  God,  he  issued  an  order  that 
the  heretics  should  be  given  over  to  the  civil  authorities.  In  1526 
Denis  de  Rieux  was  burnt  at  Meaux,  because  he  had  said  that 
the  mass  destroyed  the  efficacy  of  Christ's  death  and  sufferings, 
to  which  declaration  he  remained  true  to  his  last  moment.  Now 
also  came  Berquin's  turn  to  suffer :  he  was  put  to  death  by 
strangulation.*  Francis  Lambert  was  more  fortunate.  He  fled 
from  Avignon,  laid  aside  his  Franciscan  habit  and  hastened  to 
Wittenberg,  where  he  was  the  first  of  the  French  teachers  to  en- 
ter into  the  marriage  state.  He  afterwards  labored  at  Metz,  and 
subsequently  as  a  teacher  of  theology  at  Marburg.  The  part 
which  he  took  in  the  reformation  of  Hesse  was  important :  he  de- 
clared himself  in  favor  of  Zwingli's  doctrine  of  the  eucharist,  and 
died  in  1530. 

The  parliament  of  Paris  exhibited  at  this  period  an  unrelent- 
ing severity.  In  1531  the  allied  princes,  on  the  formation  of 
the  league  of  Smalcald,  endeavored  to  open  the  eyes  of  the 
king ;  but  he  was  incapable  of  entering  into  exact  inquiry,  was 
too  much  distracted  with  worldly  affairs,  and  too  subject  to 
foreign  influence.  Policy  only  induced  him  to  respect  the 
German  league.  Religion  was  to  him  a  thing  of  secondary  con- 
sideration, and  it  was  to  queen  Margaret  that  the  reformers 
were  indebted  for  not  being  altogether  destroyed.  In  three  uni- 
versities, God's  voice  was  heard  (1529) — Orleans,  Bourges, 
Thoulouse.  Even  Paris,  for  a  short  time,  possessed  three  evan- 
gelical preachers.  By  Margaret's  care,  divine  service  was  regu- 
larly performed  in  Guienne  and  Beam  according  to  the  reformed 
doctrine  ;  and  the  Lord's  supper  was  administered  in  both  kinds. 
She  went  still  further,  and  availing  herself  of  the  influence  of 
Parvi,  the  king's  confessor,  obtained  a  translation  of  the  Common 
Prayer  Book,  '  Les  Heures,'  into  French,  and  having  expunged 
what  was  superstitious,  sent  it  to  the  press.  She  also  now  pub- 
lished her  own  work,  <  Le  Miroir  de  l'Ame  Pecheresse,'  in  which 
no  mention  was  made  of  purgatory,t  or  of  the  saints;  and  the 
Salve  Regina  was  addressed  to  the  Redeemer.  The  Sorbonne, 
greatly  enraged,  preached  against  this  book.  A  play  even  was 
acted,  in  which  the  queen  appeared  as  one  of  the  furies  of  hell. 
Her  work  was  formally  condemned. 

*  D.  Merlin,  who  conducted  him  to  the  place  of  punishment,  said,  before  all  the 
people,  and  to  the  great  vexation  of  the  judges,  tfcc.,  that  no  Letter  Christian  had  died 
lor  a  hundred  years  than  Berquin 

f  Beza,  1.  18. 


A.D.  1509-31. J  SATIRIC  DRAMA.  17 

Calvin  was  at  this  time  in  Paris,  and  had  commenced  his  la- 
bors. One  of  his  earliest  letters,  addressed  to  Fr.  Daniel,  in 
the  year  1533,*  gives  a  full  account  of  the  satirical  drama  above 
alluded  to.  "  At  the  beginning-  of  October,  when  the  students  who 
pass  from  the  language  class  to  that  of  dialectics  have  the  custom 
of  acting  a  play,  for  the  sake  of  practice,  they  performed  one  in 
the  Navarre  Gymnasium  more  than  sufficiently  full  of  gall  and 
vinegar.  The  following  were  the  characters  represented.  First 
of  all,  a  queen,  who,  as  is  customary  with  women,  was  wholly 
employed  in  spinning,  or  with  the  affairs  of  the  kitchen,  and  her 
needle.  Then  appeared  a  fury,  who  approaching  with  torches, 
encouraged  her  to  throw  away  her  needle  and  bodkin.  For  a 
little  while  she  withstood  his  persuasions ;  but  no  sooner  had 
she  yielded  than  a  Gospel  was  put  into  her  hand,  and  she 
straightway  forgot  all  she  had  formerly  learnt,  all  she  had  been 
accustomed  to  do,  and  almost  her  very  self.  At  last  she  arms 
herself  with  tyranny,  and  pursues  with  all  imaginable  arts  of 
cruelty  the  unfortunate  and  the  innocent.  Other  things  were 
added,  in  the  same  style,  most  unjustly  indeed,  against  that  excel- 
lent woman,  whom  they  openly  persecute  with  their  insults.  The 
affair  for  some  days  remained  undiscovered.  But  as  truth  is  a 
child  of  time,  so  the  whole  was  at  length  made  known  to  the 
queen ;  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  if  this  matter  were  allowed  to 
pass  unpunished,  it  would  be  an  encouragement  for  the  imperti- 
nent rashness  of  those  who  eagerly  sought  after  new  things.  The 
praetor,  accompanied  by  a  hundred  officers  of  police,  proceeded  to 
the  Gymnasium,  and  ordered  the  place  to  be  surrounded  that  no 
one  might  pass  out.  He  then  entered  the  building  with  some  few 
of  his  men,  but  did  not  succeed  in  discovering  the  author  of  the 
drama.  It  is  said,  that  the  latter  had  not  expected  such  a  visit, 
but  that  being  by  chance  in  the  chamber  of  a  friend,  he  heard  the 
noise  before  he  was  seen,  and  so  hid  himself  till  he  was  able  to 
escape.  The  prsetor,  however,  apprehended  the  scholars  who  had 
performed  in  the  play ;  and  though  the  chief  of  the  Gymnasium 
resisted  this  proceeding,  and  some  stones  were  thrown  from  the 
building  during  the  struggle,  the  praetor  kept  fast  hold  of  his  pris- 
oners, and  forced  them  to  explain  what  parts  they  had  acted. 
Thus  was  all  made  known." 

The  second  part  of  the  letter  describes  the  perplexity  of  the 
university,  when  the  king  resolved  to  punish  it  for  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  book.     Nicolas  Cop,  the  rector,   first    appeared,  and 

*  Ed.  Laus.  Ep.  1. 
VOL.  I. — 2 


18  JOHANNA  ALBRET.  [CHAP.  I. 

represented  the  affair  to  the  four  faculties  of  medicine,  philosophy, 
theology,  and  canon  law.  He  called  the  doctors  to  account  for 
their  arrogant  behavior  towards  the  queen,  "  that  motherly  pat- 
tern of  science  and  virtue"  (virtutum  omnium  et  bonarum  litera- 
rum  matrem),  and  threatened  them  with  the  anger  of  the  king. 
Nothing  remained  but  to  deny  the  fact.  At  last,  Clericus,  the 
parish  priest  of  St.  Andrew,  poured  forth  a  long  eulogium  on  the 
king,  against  whose  firmness,  he  said,  the  evil  counsels  of  some 
wicked  members  of  the  theological  faculty  could  happily  in  no 
wise  prevail.  Of  the  matter  itself  he  pretended  to  be  profoundly 
ignorant ;  and  the  rector  thereupon  declared,  with  the  consent  of 
all  present,  that  the  university  did  not  recognize  the  censure  which 
had  placed  the  queen's  book  among  forbidden,  or  censured  publi- 
cations.* 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  Margaret,  Johanna  Albret,  also 
queen  of  Navarre,  appeared  in  France.  No  less  distinguished 
than  her  mother,  she  was  the  protector  of  the  protestants,  the 
friend  of  Calvin,  and  the  centre  of  the  reformed  circle.     She  was 

*  The  following  lines  are  from  the  work,  '  Le  Miroir  de  1'Ame,'  which  so  offended 
the  Sorbonne.     Mary  says  to  the  Lord : — 

"  0  quel  repos  de  mere  et  filz  ensemble  ! 
Mon  doux  enfant,  mon  Dieu,  honneur  et  gloire 
Soit  a  vous  seul  et  a  chacun  notoire 
De  ce  qu'il  plait  a  votre  humilite, 
Moy,  moins  que  rien  toute  nichilite, 
Mere  nommer :  plus  est  le  cas  estrange, 
Et  plus  eu  ha  vostre  bonte  louenge. 

Jesus  only  is  our  righteousness. 
0  mon  Sauveur  par  Foi  je  suis  plantee, 
Et  par  amour  en  vous  jointe  et  ent6e. 
Quelle  union,  quel  bienheurete, 
Puisque  par  Foi  j'ai  de  vous  seureto. 
Done  Monseigneur,  qui  me  condamnera : 
Et  quel  juge  jamais  me  damnera, 
Quand  celuyla,  qui  m'est  donne  pour  juge 
Est  raou  espoux,  mon  pure,  mon  refuge. 
Jesus  Christ  qui  est  mon  Iledempteur 
Qui  par  sa  mort  nous  a  restituc 
Notre  heritage,  et  s'est  constitue 
Notre  advocat,  devant  Dieu  presentant 
Se9  merites  :  qui  sont  et  valent  tant, 
Que  ma  grande  depte  en  est  si  surmontee 
Que  pour  rien  n'est  en  jugement  comptee. 
Quand  vos  vertus,  mon  Sauveur  presentez 
Certes  assez  justice  contentez, 
Et  6ur  la  Croix  par  votre  passion 
En  avez  fait  la  satisfaction. 
Moy  duncques,  ver  de  terre,  moins  que  ritu 
Et  chienne  morte,  ordure  des  Hens, 
Cesser  dois  bien  purler  de  l'altitude 
De  ceste  amour." 


A.D.  1509-31.]   STATE  OF  FEELING  IN  FRANCE.  19 

married  to  that  weak  king,  Antony  Bourbon  of  Navarre,  who 
renounced  the  protestant  faith.  Many  of  Calvin's  writings,  ad- 
dressed to  the  king,  afford  evidence  of  the  anxious  efforts  which  he 
made  to  convert  him.  But  if  he  failed  in  this  respect,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  awakening  a  noble  spirit  in  the  queen,  which  after- 
wards descended  to  Henry  IV.  She  willingly  committed  her- 
self to  the  guidance  of  him  and  Beza ;  and  it  was  she  who  in 
perilous  times  uttered  that  heroic  sentiment,  "If  I  held  in  my 
hand  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  and  the  prince,  my  son,  I  would 
sooner  cast  both  into  the  sea,  than  partake  of  the  mass."  In  her 
will  are  these  words,  addressed  to  her  son, — "  God  will  honor 
those  who  honor  him,  and  dishonor  those  who  dishonor  him  ;" 
which  the  church  of  Geneva  once,  in  a  critical  moment,  brought 
to  Henry's  recollection. 

But  in  order  to  form  a  correct  notion  of  the  life,  the  extraor- 
dinary labors,  and  the  severe  language  of  the  reformers,  espe- 
cially Calvin's,  we  must  still  further  describe  the  sentiments 
which  animated  France  and  Italy  at  this  period. 

The  powerful  spirit  of  the  middle  ages,  so  rich  in  action  ;  the 
strong,  unbridled  force  of  nature,  with  the  rudeness  which  to  us 
appears  so  fruitful  in  crime  and  extravagance,  still  everywhere 
existed.  On  the  other  hand,  a  high  species  of  culture  was  ex- 
ercising its  softening  influence ;  a  classical  spirit  had  arisen  ;  and 
with  it  was  united  in  wonderful  combination,  love  for  tine  art, 
for  the  ideal  of  the  beautiful, — for  antiquity.  The  powers  of  the 
olden  time  struggled  with  those  of  the  new ;  as,  in  the  present 
age,  the  elements  of  a  new,  fresh  culture  are  contending  with  an 
old  and  almost  worn-out  life. 

Let  us  read  the  petulant  Rabelais,  the  physician  and  pastor, 
the  representative  of  the  rude  merriment  of  his  time,  and  then 
look  at  Italy,  where  science  and  poetry  had  reached  the  highest 
grade  of  perfection.  But  the  productions  which  sprung  from 
these  opposite  species  of  cultivation  were  patronized  without 
distinction  in  the  court  of  Francis  I.  The  monarch  kept  the 
rough  Benvenuto  Cellini,  that  type  of  his  people,  constantly  at 
Paris,  and  greatly  esteemed  him.  Benvenuto  produced  immortal 
specimens  of  art,  and  wielded  the  dagger  with  equal  skill,  regard- 
ing both  as  equally  honorable.  Here  we  discover  the  excess  of 
cunning  practised  by  the  Roman  court,  which  thus  sought  by 
artificial  and  vicious  means  to  support  the  half-ruined  edifice  of 
its  power.  To  education,  to  violence  and  subtlety,  were  added 
a  childish  love  for  ornament  and    expense,  and  unbridled  licen- 


20  CALVIN.  [CHAP.  I. 

tiousness.  There  were  splendid  courts,  in  which  the  most  in- 
tellectual men  moved  hand  in  hand  with  warlike  knights,  who 
still  cherished  in  their  hearts  the  imaginary  glory  of  private 
combat,  and  were  ready  at  any  moment  to  draw  the  sword.  Of 
this,  striking  examples  were  afforded  in  France  at  the  courts  of 
Francis  I.  and  Henry  II.  and  in  the  camp  of  Henry  IV.  The 
latter  began  his  career  shortly  after  Calvin  left  the  stage ;  and 
his  friend,  the  severe  Sully,  fought  as  a  brave  knight  while  he 
was  engaged  upon  those  memoirs,  which,  to  the  present  day, 
give  us  so  correct  a  picture  of  his  times. 

With  these  various  elements  of  a  wild  strength,  which  raved 
like  roaring  billows  against  the  rock  of  the  Gospel ;  with  the 
three  mighty  masters  of  temporal  dominion,  Charles  V.,  Francis 
I.,  Henry  VIII.,  not  one  of  whom  knew  aught  of  the  pure  light, 
came  the  reformers  into  conflict.  It  was  Calvin's  especial  charge 
to  bridle  by  the  most  powerful  moral  rule,  the  passionate,  highly 
excited,  but  noble  natures  of  the  South,  and  to  render  them 
capable  of  that  cultivation  which  had  its  proper  origin  in  the 
reformed  church. 

But  to  understand  the  important  character  of  the  means 
which  he  employed,  we  must  carefully  survey  his  individual 
position  at  Geneva.  It  was  not  his  lot  to  labor  among  intelli- 
gent Germans,  with  whom  truth  and  kindliness  are  innate,  but 
in  a  city  where  the  rude  strength  of  nature  enjoyed  unlimited 
freedom  ;  in  a  self-formed  republic  ;  among  a  people  consisting  of 
Savoyards,  Schweizers,  and  fugitives  out  of  all  the  neighboring 
countries  ;  a  people,  that  is,  upon  whom  it  was  for  him  first  to 
impress  a  distinctive  national  character.  And  this  he  effected 
with  the  same  success  as  his  other  designs,  so  that  the  little  state 
of  Geneva  is,  even  to  this  day,  marked  by  a  character  peculiarly 
its  own.  But  we  shall  speak  of  Switzerland,  and  the  theatre  so 
particularly  assigned  to  him,  when  we  see  him  commencing  his 
labors  there.  Of  Scotland,  the  state  of  which  he  also  influenced, 
we  can  only  speak  in  a  much  later  portion  of  the  work. 


CHAPTER  II.     a.d.  1509—1525. 

calvin's  childhood.  —  studies. —  early  conversion. — 
first  labors. 

The  guiding  care  of  God  in  the  lives  of  his  servants  may  be 
traced  even  in  their  earliest  childhood.  Thus  Luther,  destined 
to  become  the  man  of  the  people,  was  the  offspring  of  poor 
miners.*  "I  am  a  peasant's  son,"  said  he ;  "  my  father,  grand- 
father, and  great-grandfather  were  honest  peasants."  And  all 
his  life  long  he  manifested  his  ability  to  speak  convincingly  to 
the  people.  Calvin,  who  was  destined  to  employ  his  influence 
in  the  world  as  a  theologian  and  thinker,  enjoyed  from  his 
childhood  the  benefit  of  a  learned  education. 

Calvin  was  born  at  Noyon  in  Picardy,  July  10,  1509.t  His 
father,  Gerhard  Cauvin  or  Calvin,  was  Procureur  Fiscal  of  the 
lordship  of  Noyon,  and  secretary  of  the  diocese.  His  grand- 
father Bottcher  lived  in  a  neighboring  village,  Le  Pont  l'Eveque, 
where  Calvin  had  many  relations,  who  however,  out  of  hatred, 
laid  aside  his  name.  His  mother  was  Anna  Franke  of  Cambray. 
Of  the  outward  appearance  of  young  Calvin,  destitute  as  we  are 
of  information,  we  can  say  little.  The  wood  engravings,  found 
in  old  editions  of  his  works,  present  noble  and  very  characteristic 
traits  of  countenance,  but  of  one  worn  by  toil  and  anxiety,  and 
offering  a  strange  contrast  to  the  round,  full,  and  cheerful 
physiognomy  of  Dr.  Luther.  This  however  may  not  have  been 
the  case  in  Calvin's  youth.  The  nose  is  finely  shaped.  His 
father  was  well  formed,  and  his  mother  was  considered  beautiful. 
In  some  old  editions  printed  at  Geneva  in  his  life-time,  he  is  rep- 
resented with  a  little  cap  upon  his  head,  with  a  pointed  beard, 
and  his  eyes  raised  to  heaven.  Beneath  is  this  motto,  Prompte 
et  sincere :  "  Promptly  and  honestly."t 

Beza,  who  knew  best  how  to  describe  him  correctly,  says, 
"He  was  of  middle  stature,  somewhat  pale;  his  skin  was  rather 

*  Born  Nov.  10,  1483,  of  Hans  Luther  and  Margaretha  Lindemannin,  who  removed 
from  the  village  of  Mohre  toEisleben  at  the  fair. 

\  He  died  May  27,  1564;  aged  54  years,  10  months,  17  days. 

%  The  expression  of  his  countenance  in  the  portraits  of  him  is  mostly  severe  but  not 
ill-natured,  except  in  the  libels  upon  him,  as  in  Bolsecs. 


22  calvin's  family.  [chap.  ii. 

brown  ;  and  his  clear,  sparkling  eyes  gave  token  of  his  keen, 
lively  spirit,  and  this  even  till  his  death.  In  his  dress  he  was 
very  neat,  but  without  ornament,  as  became  his  great  simplicity." 
His  father,  a  man  of  powerful  understanding,  was  highly  beloved 
by  the  nobility  of  the  district,  and  was  remarkable  for  severity  of 
character.  This  is  mentioned  by  Calvin  himself.  Of  his  mother 
it  is  said,  that  her  feelings  were  colored  by  the  age  in  which 
she  lived,  and  that  she  was  animated  by  an  anxious  piety.  Faith 
was  early  awakened  in  her  heart.  She  had  been  taught  to  pray 
under  the  open  sky — a  blessed  means  of  impressing  upon  young 
minds  a  feeling  of  the  presence  of  God.* 

We  possess  a  notice  written  by  Calvin  himself,  in  the  preface 
to  his  Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  in  which,  when  he  was  al- 
ready advanced  in  years,  he  reflects,  in  the  outpouring  of  his 
heart,  upon  his  whole  life,  and  on  God's  dealings  with  him.  He 
rejoices  and  praises  God,  that,  as  he  took  David  from  the  sheep- 
folds,  and  highly  exalted  him,  so  he  had  elected  him,  little  as  he 
originally  was,  to  the  high  dignity  of  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 
We  learn  also  from  the  same  writing,  that  his  father  destined 
him,  while  still  a  boy,  to  the  study  of  theology,  but  afterwards 
changed  his  intentions. 

Drelincourtt  has  preserved  some  notices  worthy  of  credit  re- 
specting the  family  and  early  years  of  Calvin.  Jaques  Desmay 
and  Jaques  Levasseur,  catholics  and  sorbonnists,  have  given 
extracts  out  of  the  archives  of  Noyon,  which  agree  with  the 
above  and  supply  some  defects.  The  former  says,  "Calvin  was 
born  at  Noyon,  in  the  place  where  now  stands  La  Maison  du 
Cerf.  He  was  baptized  in  the  church  of  St.  Godeberte,  and 
studied  in  his  early  years  in  the  College  des  Capettes.  Some 
have  said  that  he  was  a  chorister ;  others,  a  canon  of  Noyon  ;  but 
I  have  learnt  there  that  he  was  neither  the  one  nor  the  other. 
I  have  discovered,  however,  that  he  was  a  chaplain  and  curate, 
and  that  he  also  obtained  a  chapel." 

The  house  in  which  Calvin  was  born,  was,  from  hatred  to  his 
name,  pulled  down  ;  and  an  inhabitant  of  the  city,  it  is  said, 
who  rebuilt  it,  was  hung  before  the  door. J 

He  was  educated  with  the  children  of  the  noble  family  of 
Mommor,   the    most    honorable    in    the    district.      It    was    with 

*  Tischer  relates  this  ;  but  the  source  of  his  information  is  not  known. 
f  Defense  ile  Calvin,  p.  158. 

i  This  is  stated  by  Varillas,  Hist.  d.  Revol.,  an  author  not  deserving  much  credit, 
and  especially  unworthy  of  it  in  matters  of  controversy. 


a.d.  1509-25.]  calvin's  early  studies.  23 

lasting  gratitude  that  he  remembered  this  period  of  his  life  ;  and 
he  dedicated  his  first  work,  the  Commentary  on  Seneca,  to  a 
Mommor,  the  prelate  of  St.  Eloi,  with  whom  he  had  studied. 
"  Brought  up,"  he  says,  "  as  a  child  in  your  house  ;  devoted  to 
the  same  studies  as  yourself,  the  first  instruction  which  I  re- 
ceived was  derived  from  the  life  and  cultivation  of  your  own  very 
noble  family."  Young  Calvin,  by  his  natural  ability,  it  is  said, 
soon  surpassed  his  fellow-students. 

In  his  twelfth  year,  his  father,  who  was  not  rich,  procured  for 
him  an  appointment  in  the  Chapelle  de  la  Gesine.  He  destined 
him  to  the  study  of  theology,  because  in  his  tender  years  he  had 
manifested  extraordinary  piety,  and  was  a  sharp  reprover  of  the 
follies  of  his  schoolfellows ;  a  fact  which  Beza  derived  from  un- 
doubted catholic  sources,  when  Calvin  had  already  acquired 
celebrity. 

Calvin  was  sent  by  his  father,  with  the  younger  members  of 
the  Mommor  family,  to  the  high  school  at  Paris.  Here  he  found 
Maturnius  Cordier  (Regent  au  College  de  la  Marche),  a  learned 
and  pious  instructor,  who  afterwards  abjured  popery  and  lived 
with  Calvin  at  Geneva,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five, 
in  the  same  year  with  his  pupil  Calvin.  From  the  College  de  la 
Marche,  Calvin  passed  to  the  College  Montaigu,  where  he  met 
with  a  Spaniard  who  taught  the  scholastic  philosophy,  and 
greatly  improved  his  excellent  capacity.  The  extraordinary  gifts 
of  the  young  man  were  here  strikingly  displayed.  His  mind  was 
so  active,  that  he  soon  left  all  his  fellow-students  behind,  and 
was  able  to  pass  from  the  language  classes  to  those  of  dialectics 
and  the  higher  sciences.  Very  different  in  this  respect  from 
Luther,  who,  endowed  with  greater  power  of  imagination,  was 
inclined,  it  is  said,  to  enthusiasm,  Calvin  was  remarkable  for 
sedateness  and  earnestness,  and  brought  forth  the  fruits  of  a 
careful  education,  and  of  a  life  spent  with  useful  instructors. 

In  the  year  1525,  when  Calvin  was  sixteen  years  old,  the  world 
presented  a  vast  scene  of  confusion.  War  was  raging,  and  the 
king  of  France  had  been  made  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Pavia. 
It  was  a  period  fruitful  in  crime.  King  Francis,  freed  by  a 
wicked  pope  from  all  the  obligations  of  truth  and  integrity,  took 
an  oath  upon  the  Gospel,  which  he  secretly  despised ;  and  whilst 
Bourbon,  the  emperor's  general  in  the  year  1527,  was  infamously 
assailing  Rome  and  making  the  pope  a  prisoner,  Charles  ordered 
prayers  to  be  offered  up  in  all  the  churches  for  the  pontiffs 
deliverance.     Quietly,  in  the  mean  time,  was  that  preacher  of  re- 


24  calvin's  promotion  to  a  benefice,      [chap.  ii. 

pentance  preparing  himself,  from  whom  they  were  all,  at  length, 
to  hear  words  of  truth.  It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that  we 
have  little  information  respecting  his  studies  at  this  time.  The 
letters  which  he  sent  from  college  to  his  friends  at  home  have 
not  been  preserved.  In  these  he  no  doubt  expressed  his  youth- 
ful indignation. 

Having  reached  his  eighteenth  year,  he  received  the  living  of 
Marteville,  altogether  against  rule,  for  he  was  not  yet  in  orders, 
having  received  only  the  tonsure.  He  changed  the  parish  of 
Marteville  for  that  of  Pont  PEveque.  In  the  acts  of  the  chapter 
of  Noyon,  in  Desmay,  it  is  said,*  "he  was  appointed  curate  of 
Pont  l'Eveque,  where  his  grandfather  resided,  and  where  his 
son  Gerard  was  baptized.  Thus  they  delivered  up  the  sheep  to 
the  care  of  the  wolf."  It  seems  that  his  father  had  availed  him- 
self of  his  influence  with  the  bishop  to  procure  means  for  allow- 
ing his  distinguished  son  to  continue  his  studies.!  He  was  pre- 
sented to  the  cure  by  Messire  Claude  de  Hangest,  abe  de  SSt.  Eloy. 
He  felt  a  childish,  proud  delight  at  his  promotion  ;  for  he  says 
"  a  certain  disputation  made  me  a  pastor  ;"  and  although  not 
yet  ordained,  he  preached  many  times  to  the  people  in  the  vil- 
lage. No  trace  of  his  ordination  can  be  found  in  the  records  of 
his  life.t 

Looking  now  at  Luther,  how  different  was  Calvin's  lot  to  his  ! 
Till  his  fourteenth  year,  when  he  was  received  into  the  house  of 
Conrad  Cotta,  the  former  was  obliged  to  support  himself  by  sing- 
ing and  praying  before  people's  doors.§  Both  however  discovered 
at  an  early  period  the  corruptions  of  the  catholic  church.  Calvin 
was  aided  by  the  happy  circumstances  of  his  life  ;  while  Luther, 
who  acquired  the  degree  of  master  in  his  one-and-twentieth  year, 
and  in  his  four-and-twentieth  was  a  professor  of  Aristotelian 
philosophy,  beheld  those  corruptions  in  the  very  focus  of  pollu- 
tion, when  he  was  sent  to  Rome  on  the  business  of  his  order. 

Calvin  did  not  remain  true  to  his  purpose  to  serve  the  catholic 
church.  He  says  that  his  father,  who  perhaps  foresaw  the  ap- 
proaching struggle,  considered  it  better  (o  engage  him  in  the 
study  of  the  law.  It  is  curious  enough,  that  Luther's  parents 
and  relations  also  wished  to  devote  him  to  the  same  profession. 

•  Drelincourt,  1G8.  f  Ibid. 

%  Calvin  was  never  ordained  priest,  and  did  not  enter  the  ecclesiastical  state. 
Bayle,  art.  Calvin,  Beza. 

i  Mathesiua.  This  author  relates  that  Luther  in  his  fourteenth  year  went  to  the 
school  at  Magdeburg.  He  bad  then  to  seek  his  bread,  and  cry  for  it  propter  Deum, 
Whut  is  to  be  great  must  first  be  little. 


A.D.  1509-25.]  LETTER    TO    CHEMIN.  25 

Calvin  employed  his  knowledge  of  legal  science,  in  after  years, 
when  he  took  part  in  the  affairs  of  a  new  state,  to  considerable 
advantage.  He  lost  his  father  at  an  early  age,  as  we  learn  from 
one  of  his  letters.  According  however  to  Beza's  account,  it  hap- 
pened when  Calvin  was  about  twenty-three  years  old,  and  was 
studying  at  Bourges,  that  is,  three  years  later  than  the  date  of  the 
letter.  This  letter,*  the  earliest  document  in  his  hand,  is  dated 
May  6,  1528,  when  he  was  a  youth  of  eighteen  or  nineteen.  It 
was  written  to  a  friend,  Nicolas  du  Chemin  (Chemmins)  from 
Noyon,  whither  he  had  returned  from  Paris  or  Orleans.  A 
youthful  spirit  breathes  in  every  line,  and  it  is  marked  by  the 
character  which  distinguishes  his  later  correspondence — by  friend- 
ship, conscientiousness,  and  truth  : — 

"  The  promise  which  I  gave  you,  on  setting  out,  soon  to  be  with 
you  again,  kept  me  for  a  long  time  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  ;  the 
sickness  of  my  father,  while  I  was  preparing  to  return  to  you, 
creating  a  new  cause  of  delay.  But  when  the  physician  gave 
hopes  of  his  recovery,  I  then  saw  nothing  in  this  delay  but  that 
the  desire  to  rejoin  you,  which  originally  moved  me  deeply,  grew 
still  greater  by  the  intervention  of  a  few  days.  In  the  mean  time, 
one  day  after  another  has  passed  away,  and  at  last,  every  hope 
of  preserving  my  father's  life  has  vanished.  The  approach  of 
death  is  certain.  But,  at  all  events,  I  shall  see  you  again. 
Remember  me  to  Francis  Daniel ;  to  Philip,  and  all  the  rest  who 
are  with  you.  Have  you  put  yourself  yet  under  the  professors 
of  literature?  Take  care  that  your  discretion  does  not  make 
you  idle.  Farewell,  dear  Chemin ;  my  friend,  dearer  than 
life !" 

Young  Calvin  now  became  acquainted,  for  the  first  time,  with  a 
Bible.  It  was  that,  perhaps,  of  Faber  Stapulensis,  or  the  still  un- 
printed  translation  of  Robert  Olivetanus,  his  relation. t  He  at 
that  time  understood  neither  Greek  nor  Hebrew,  although  he  had 
preached.  But  no  sooner  did  he  discover  the  errors  of  the  catho- 
lic church,  than  he  resigned  his  benefice. 

At  the  suggestion  of  his  father,  he  had  left  Paris  and  entered 
the  university  of  Orleans,  in  order  to  study  law  under  Pierre  de 
l'Etoile,  Petrus  Stella,  president  of  the  parliament  of  Paris  (le 
plus  aigu  jurisconsulte  de  France) ;  subsequently  he  removed  to 
Bourges,  and  studied  under  Andre  Alciat. 

*  MSS.  ex.  Bibl.  Gen. 

t  Thus  Luther  also  first  met  with  a  Latin  Bible  in  the  Augustin  monastery  at 
Erfurt. 


26  CALVIN  BEGINS  TO  PREACH.        [CHAP.  II. 

But  however  diligently  he  devoted  himself  to  this  science,  the 
voice  of  conscience  urged  him  still  more  powerfully  to  the  study 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  love  of  truth  gained  the  victory.  Another 
excellent  man,  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  at  Bourges, 
afforded  him  great  help.  This  was  Melchior  Wolmar,*  a  German 
of  Rotweil,  who  taught  him  Greek,  and  strengthened  his  still  un- 
settled principles,  so  that  he  even  began  to  publish  his  new  con- 
victions by  preaching.  To  this  Wolmar  he  was  in  great  meas- 
ure indebted  for  his  conversion.  Calvin  openly  declared  his  grat- 
itude to  him  in  1546  :  % 

"  I  remember  how  ready  you  were  to  help  me,  and  as  often  as 
occasion  offered,  to  prove  your  love  to  me ;  and  with  what  dili- 
gence you  labored  to  instruct  me.  Especially  do  I  bear  in  mind 
that  period  when  my  father  sent  me  to  study  jurisprudence.  I 
learnt  Greek  under  your  guidance ;  and  it  is  not  your  fault  if  I 
have  not  made  farther  progress,  for  you  would  have  afforded  me  a 
helping  hand  through  the  whole  course,  had  not  the  death  of  my 
father  called  me  away." 

Some  expressions  of  Bezat  show  the  then  state  of  France,  and 
Calvin's  youthful  zeal : — 

"God  about  this  time  made  his  voice  heard  at  Orleans, 
Bourges,  and  Toulouse,  three  cities  with  universities.  There 
were  some  few  indeed  at  Orleans  who  knew  the  truth,  as  for 
example,  F.  Daniel,  an  advocate,  and  Nicolas  du  Chemin  ;  but 
this  was  as  good  as  nothing  (mais  cela  et  rien  etoit  tout  un),  till 
Calvin,  still  a  very  young  man,  but  already  marked  out  as  an 
excellent  instrument  for  the  work  of  the  Lord,  came  to  Orleans 
to  study  jurisprudence.  Through  God's  grace,  however,  he  de- 
voted his  best  hours  to  theology ;  and  in  a  short  time  he  so 
combined  science  with  zeal  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  he 
wonderfully  promoted  the  cause  in  many  families  ;  not  by  an 
affected  excellency  of  speech,  which  he  always  hated,  but  by  such 
depth  and'force  of  language  that  no  one  could  hear  him,  even  at 
that  time,  without  admiration."  When  he  was  at  Bourges,  he 
strengthened  all  the  faithful  residing  in  that  city,  and  preached 

*  Schlosser,  pp.  18,  19.  Wolmar  instructed  Bcza  in  1528,  at  Orleans,  and  then 
at  Bourses,  where,  being  professor,  lie  received  him  into  his  house.  Wolmar 
was  married,  and  took  only  a  few  pupils.  Calvin  became  acquainted  with  Beza 
at  Bourses.  Wolmar  was  soon  after  called  to  Tubingen  as  Wiirtemberg  coun- 
sellor. "  Cujus  doctrinam,  pietatem,  cseterasque  virtutes,  admirabilem  in  erudienda 
juventute  dexter itatem  nunquam  satis  possim  prwclicarc." — Beza. 

\  Preface  to  the  Commentary  on  II.  Epist.  Corin. 

\  Hist.  Eccles.  1.  i.  pp.  9,  10. 


A.D.  1509-25.]  CALVIN    AT    PARIS.  27 

in  several  castles  in  the  surrounding  district.  Among  others,  the 
lord  of  Lignieres  is  mentioned,  who  with  his  wife  gladly  heard 
him.  Speaking  of  Calvin  he  said,  "  Now  this  man  teaches  us  at 
least  something  new." 

Calvin  has  himself  recorded  of  his  university  days,  that  when  a 
youth  at  Orleans,  he  took  the  place  of  the  teachers  in  their  ab- 
sence, and  lectured  with  much  approbation.  The  degree  of  doc- 
tor was  bestowed  upon  him  without  the  usual  fees. 

Beza  describes  his  diligence  at  the  university,  as  observed  by 
many  of  his  friends  and  companions,  then  living.  It  was  his 
custom,  after  a  moderate  supper,  to  pass  half  the  night  in  study, 
and  the  next  morning,  as  soon  as  he  woke,  to  think  over  again, 
and  to  complete  what  he  had  learned  over  night.  By  these  night 
watchings,  he  acquired  his  vast  and  exact  learning,  and  sharp- 
ened his  natural  powers  of  thought,  but  by  the  same  means  he 
prepared  for  himself  bodily  suffering  and  an  early  death. 

Having  finished  his  university  course,  he  seems  to  have  re- 
sided at  Paris,  but  only  for  a  short  time.  Some  of  his  letters  indi- 
cate that  he  was  in  Paris  at  an  earlier  period.  Thus  one  to 
Francis  Daniel  is  dated  from  Paris,  24th  of  June,  1529.  In  this, 
Calvin,  then  twenty  years  of  age,*  and  when  he  had  not  yet 
openly  renounced  the  catholic  religion,  describes  to  his  friend  how 
he  had  warned  his  sister  not  hastily  to  become  a  nun : — 

"  We  arrived  here  the  other  day,  but  I  was  so  much  wearied 
by  the  journey,  that  I  could  not  for  the  first  four  days  set  a  step 
out  of  doors.  Although  I  could  scarcely  hold  myself  up,  I  spent 
my  time  in  receiving  the  visits  of  my  friends.  On  Sunday  I 
went  to  the  convent  with  Cop,  who  wished  to  accompany  me,  in 
order  that,  according  to  your  desire,  I  might  fix  a  day  with  the 
ladies  of  the  convent  for  your  sister  to  take  the  vows.  I  was 
answered  that  she,  together  with  some  others,  had  already  re- 
ceived the  necessary  permission,  according  to  the  solemn  custom 
of  the  College  of  Sisters.  Among  them,  I  found  the  daughter  of 
a  banker  of  Orleans,  your  brother's  master.  While  he  was 
speaking  with  the  abbess,  I  took  occasion  to  examine  your  sis- 
ter's sentiments,  to  see  whether  she  was  about  to  take  the 
vows  with  entire  satisfaction,  and  whether  her  mind  did  not 
vacillate.  I  exhorted  her  many  times  to  tell  me  freely  and  with 
confidence  whatever  there  might  be  to  disturb  her  tranquillity. 
Never  saw  I  anything  more  compliant  or  ready.     One  might  say 

*  MSS.  ex.  BibL  Gen. 


28  LETTERS    OF    CALVIN.  [CHAP.  II. 

she  was  playing  with  puppets  when  she  spoke  of  the  vows.  I 
did  not  want  to  change  her  intention.  That  was  not  the  object 
of  my  visit;  but  I  besought  her  not  to  depend  too  much  upon 
her  own  strength,  lest  she  might  unthinkingly  make  promises  ; 
but  to  rest  altogether  on  the  strength  of  God  in  whom  we  are 
and  live.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  abbess  gave  me  an  opportunity 
of  speaking  to  her.  When  I  persisted  on  her  fixing  a  day,  she 
left  it  to  me,  but  under  the  condition  that  the  *  *  *  which 
you  have  at  Orleans  should  be  there  in  the  course  of  eight 
days. 

"With  regard  to  myself,  I  have  as  yet  no  sure  place  of  refuge, 
although  I  might  have  many,  if  I  would  consent  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  liberality  of  my  friends.  Coiffart's  father  has  so  kindly 
offered  me  his  house,  that  you  would  say  nothing  could  be 
pleasanter  to  me  than  to  join  myself  to  his  son.  Coiffart  himself 
insists  upon  it  most  earnestly,  and  prays  me  to  become  an  inmate 
of  their  house  ;  and  nothing  is  more  precious  to  me  than  this 
good-will  of  a  friend,  whose  society,  as  you  can  bear  witness,  is 
so  highly  agreeable  and  useful.  I  should,  therefore,  have  imme- 
diately accepted  the  proposal,  had  I  not  determined  to  devote  my- 
self this  year  to  Damesius,  whose  school  is  situated  at  a  very  great 
distance  from  Coiffart's  house.  All  friends  greet  you  ;  especially 
Coiffart  and  Vierman,  with  whom  I  unite.  Greet  your  mother, 
your  wife,  and  your  sister  Francisca.     Farewell." 

In  another  letter  (Nov.  13,  1529),  he  expresses,  and  always  in  a 
cheerful  style,  his  especial  gratitude  for  the  support  which  this 
Daniel  rendered  him  :  "  He  gives  himself  to  him  and  all  that  he 
has  besides.  Moreover,  he  will  be  always  ready  to  ask  new  fa- 
vor!: Ncque  enini  fanner aris  bencficia,  sed  gratuita  largiris. 
He  jests  respecting  his  so  frequently  drawing  upon  his  friend: — 
Forte  vidcar  oblique  pecuniam  cxigere,  sed  ne  tu  oblique  mordax, 
et  parum  bcnignus  interpres,  nisi  ut  soles,  lepide  jocaris.  Thus 
have  you  always  shown  yourself  the  direct  opposite  of  that  proud 
Maecenas  (a  disagreeable  patron,  that  is,  whom  Calvin  had  in  his 
eye).  Nunc  quoniam  non  potest  mores  suos  nobis  aceom??iodare, 
sit  assentutor  suns  et  pleno  sen  verius  turgido  \uctore  foveat 
ambitioncm.  He  greets  Wolmar,  whom  he  simply  names  Mel- 
chior,  and  shows  how  quickly  he  desired  his  books  to  be  returned: 
—  Odysseam  Ilomeri  quam  Sucqueto  commodavcram,  finges  a 
me  desiderari  et  receptam  penes  te  habebisP 

Another  letter  is  directed  to  Nicolas  du  Chemin,  from  Paris, 
on  the  eve  of  St.  Simon,   1529.     He   sends   him,    according  to 


a.d.  1509-25.]  calvin's  conversion.  29 

promise,  a  representation  mixed  up  with  some  novelties,  which  he 
was  to  make  known  with  great  circumspection.  We  have  only 
the  accompanying  letter,  in  which  however,  as  in  all  the  early 
documents,  we  may  trace  that  strict  conscientiousness  which  dis- 
tinguished him  in  little  things  as  well  as  great.  He  regarded 
nothing  as  trifling :  he  passed  over  nothing  in  the  French  fashion 
as  indifferent,  especially  in  matters  of  friendship.  He  greeted  all 
his  friends,  except  F — ,  "  whom  I  have  resolved  to  soften  by  si- 
lence, since  I  have  not  been  able  either  by  gentleness  or  by  scold- 
ing to  get  from  him  the  slightest  attention.  What  is  worse  than 
all,  when  his  brother  came  here,  he  did  not  send  me  a  single 
greeting  by  him." 

It  seems  that,  in  the  case  of  Calvin,  so  earnest  and  zealous,  the 
inward  conversion  was  effected  without  a  protracted  struggle. 
With  the  lively  and  enthusiastic  Luther,  this  was  an  exciting 
event :  a  storm,  and  the  death  of  his  friend  Alexius,  who  was 
struck  down  near  him,  or,  according  to  others,  was  seized  and 
stabbed,  affected  him  violently.  He  regarded  the  circumstance 
as  a  divine  visitation,  and  became  a  monk.  Augustine  himself 
had  to  endure  a  six  years'  conflict.  Calvin  relates,  that  he  was 
so  obstinately  fixed  in  popish  superstition,  that  it  seemed  difficult 
indeed  to  free  him  from  such  a  quagmire,  when  God  overcame 
him  by  a  sudden  conversion,*  and  subjected  him  to  his  will.  He 
was  endowed  with  a  most  happy  nature.  To  this  may  be  added 
the  influence  of  those  prosperous  circumstances  arising  from  his 
condition  in  life,  and  which  he  so  gratefully  acknowledged. 
His  character  and  powers  were  developed  with  more  ease, 
in  better  proportion,  and  more  tranquilly  than  those  of  Luther, 
who  was  long  tormented  with  visions  of  terror  and  with  melan- 
choly. This  explains  how  it  was  that  Calvin  could  so  early  take 
his  part  with  safety,  and  set  forth  that  system  of  doctrine  which 
formed  the  groundwork  of  all  his  future  spiritual  life.  Still 
the  following  indication  exists,  in  a  letter  to  Sadolet,  of  the  in- 
ward struggle  which  he  had  to  experience  previous  to  his  con- 
version, that  is,  before  he  found  Jesus,  and  while  he  was  subject 
to  the  papacy  : — "  And  when  I  had  attended  to  all  these  things 
(catholic  ceremonies),  and  while  I  yet  trusted  to  them  in  some 
degree,  very  far  was  I  notwithstanding  from  the  enjoyment  of 
tranquillity  of  conscience  ;  for  whenever  I  descended  into  myself, 
or  raised  my  heart  to  thee,  such  extreme  horror  surprised  me, 

*  Pr.  ad  Ps. 


30  calvin's  conversion.  [chap.  ii. 

that  neither  purifications  nor  satisfactions  could  heal  me.  Alas  ! 
the  more  closely  I  examined  myself,  so  much  the  sharper  became 
the  stings  of  my  conscience.  To  such  a  degree  was  this  the  case, 
that  neither  solace  nor  comfort  existed  for  me,  except  in  so  far  as 
I  could  deceive  myself  and  forget  myself."*  Many  passages  also 
in  his  'Institutions'  indicate  how  well  he  knew  the  soul's  conflict 
and  that  he  could  therefore  deeply  sympathize  with  those  who 
endured  it.  His  whole  correspondence  and  his  spiritual  labor? 
may  be  cited  to  the  same  purport.t 

That  Calvin's  conversion  at  thi3  time  was  sincere  and  funda- 
mental, is  proved  not  only  by  his  state  of  mind,  and  by  his 
preaching  the  Gospel  in  Fiance  at  the  period  of  such  danger,  but 
also  by  his  works,  in  which  such  an  invincible  firmness,  and  such 
deep  convictions  of  the  truth  a3  it  is  in  Jesus,  are  manifested,  that 
his  very  latest  productions  bear  much  the  same  character.  They 
exhibit,  indeed,  that  entire  conviction  and  assurance  to  which  it 
would  seem  a  man  can  only  attain  in  such  times  of  trial.  He 
questions  not  whether  others  believe  as  he  does  ;  and  from  thence- 
forward the  peculiar  belief,  the  conviction  established  by  an  in- 
ward revelation,  that  he  is  elected  in  Jesus  for  eternity,  becomes 
permanently  rooted.  Then,  although  the  struggle  continues  (for 
the  elect  as  well  as  all  others  are  exposed  to  struggles),  yet  never 
is  there  any  appearance  that  this  feeling  of  election  can  be  shaken. 
On  the  contrary,  there  is  an  increasing  sense  of  inward  tran- 
quillity, and  this  defined  assurance  may  arise  immediately  from 
the  believer's  feeling  that  he  belongs  to  God.  The  whole  of  life 
passes  over  the  soul  as  a  whirlwind.  Calvin  found  indeed  much 
already  done  by  Luther.  In  order  to  obtain  peace  of  conscience, 
the  latter  was  obliged  to  overthrow  the  whole  edifice  of  Romish 
error,  and  this  could  only  be  effected  by  degrees ;  hence  the  strug- 
gle had  to  be  perpetually  renewed. 

In  order  thoroughly  to  comprehend  the  unchristian  character 
of  the  doctrine  of  indulgences,  it  was  necessary  for  Luther  to  dis- 
cover the  ground  of  our  justification.  When  this  was  found  in 
Christ,  the  main  point  was  clear.  From  this  first  principle  he 
could  also  prove  the  vanity  of  pilgrimages,  of  prayers  to  the 
saints,  of  confession,  and  of  purgatory.     The  knowledge  of  these 


*  Opusc.  Fr.  p.  194,  Gen.  1611. 

\  Luther,  who  received  no  aid  from  works  or  masses,  was  comforted  by  an  old 
priest,  win)  spoke  to  him  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  proved  from  the  sermons  of 
St.  Bernard,  that  he  must  believe  that  God  affords  us  forgiveness  through  his  Sou. — 
Maihesius. 


a.d.  1509-25.]  calvin's  conversion.  31 

errors  led  him  to  attack  the  clergy.  He  discovered  the  source  of 
their  vices  in  their  riches,  in  their  celibacy,  in  their  convents  and 
monastic  vows.  Thence  it  was  easy  for  him  to  show  the  utter 
nothingness  of  popery,  which  could  support  such  a  system,  and 
by  a  natural  consequence,  to  overthrow  the  infallibility  of  the 
pope  and  all  mere  human  authority,  and  to  prove  the  claims  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  alone  to  be  received  as  a  rule  of  faith.  What 
endless  difficulties,  however,  opposed  his  progress  towards  com- 
plete certainty,  may  be  learnt  from  his  letters  written  in  the  year 
1530,  when  his  followers  drew  up  the  confession  of  Augsburg. 
But  he  read  the  Scriptures  repeatedly  through  and  through,  and 
thereby,  he  says,  became  daily  more  and  more  convinced.  When 
the  path  was  once  opened,  the  work  went  more  easily  forward. 
Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  was  so  passionately  devoted  to  the 
truth,  that,  like  Paul,  he  could  not  tarry,  and  he  was  enabled  to 
comprehend  the  doctrine  of  justification  through  Christ  in  a  few 
days.  His  armorial  bearings  are  very  characteristic,*  his  seal 
representing  a  hand  holding  out  a  burning  heart.  It  expresses  his 
fundamental  principle :  "  I  give  thee  all !  I  keep  back  nothing 
for  myself!"  And  further,  he  had  not  to  struggle  against  the 
weighty  obstacle  which  Luther's  spirit  had  long  since  overthrown, 
namely  the  scholastic  philosophy.  Sound  heads,  and  the  study 
of  the  ancients  soon  helped  him  into  the  right  road.  He  does  not 
complain  much  of  false  philosophy  ;  but  he  exclaims  generally 
against  the  arrogance  of  speculators. 

It  may  however  be  safely  affirmed,  that  Calvin  and  Luther 
weie  not  intended  by  nature  for  reformers.  Both  were  made 
such  simply  by  the  working  of  the  divine  Spirit.  The  one  com- 
plains of  great  shyness  and  a  characteristic  weakness ;  he  loved 
to  retire  within  himself;  and  Luther  was  dejected  and  melan- 
choly. Well  therefore  may  the  world  wonder  that  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  church  was  carried  forward  by  these  agents,  the  one  a 
weak,  and  the  other  a  melancholy  man  ! 

"  As  soon,"  says  he,t  "  as  some  love  for  true  piety  was 
awakened  in  me,  I  glowed  with  such  zeal  to  proceed,  that  though 
F  did  not  entirely  neglect  my  other  studies,  I  pursued  them  with 

*  Vide  p.  24  de  l'Avertissement  des  Lettres  a  Bourgogne  sur  le  Cachet  de  Calvin. 
There  are  two  seals;  the  one  used  till  1550,  the  other  afterwards.  The  only  differ- 
ence between  them  is,  that  the  old  seal  has  a  heart  in  the  left  hand,  and  the  new  has 
one  in  the  right,  presenting  it  to  God,  with  the  letters  J.  C.  The  form  of  the  escutch- 
eon is  a  little  different.  Luther's  seal  is  much  more  mystical :  it  represents  a  rose  in 
which  is  a  heart,  and  in  that  a  cross. 

t  Pref.  ad  Ps. 


32  PERSECUTION.  [CHAP.    II. 

little  interest ;  and  not  a  year  had  passed  over,  when  all  those 
who  had  any  desire  for  pure  learning  came  to  me,  inexperienced 
recruit  as  I  was,  to  gain  information.  I  was  naturally  bashful, 
and  loved  leisure  and  privacy  :  hence  I  sought  the  obscurest 
retirement;  but  now  every  solitary  place  became  like  a  public 
school." 

It  has  been  already  shown  how  generally  the  German  ideas 
on  the  subject  of  church  reform  were  now  diffused  among  all 
classes  of  the  French  people.  Beza  in  his  history,  and  John 
Crespin*  in  his  narrative  of  the  martyrs,  a  work  written  with 
christian  conscientiousness,  relate  how  many  witnesses  to  the 
truth  at  that  period  afforded  proofs  of  the  noblest  heroism. 
Crespin's  work  deserves  particular  mention,  on  account  of  the 
general  circulation  which  it  subsequently  obtained  in  France, 
whence  it  became,  in  the  hands  of  the  protestants,  a  blessed 
means  of  awakening  faith,  and  of  exciting,  by  stirring  exam- 
ples, a  more  courageous  spirit.  At  that  time  all  believers  in  the 
truth  were  called  Lutherans,  not  Huguenots,f  a  name  introduced 
at  a  later  period.  It  happened  in  the  present  case,  as  in  all  others, 
that  the  friends  of  truth  were  only  so  much  the  more  awakened 
by  persecutions,  and  miracles  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  again  dis- 
played. Death  inflicted  in  the  most  cruel  manner,  by  torture  and 
fire,  became  the  accustomed  path  to  the  crown  of  life,  and  was 
not  avoided. 

The  power  of  the  Spirit  gained  a  speedy  and  a  final  victory  in 
the  heart  of  Calvin.  He  was  no  longer  held  back  by  the  plans 
of  his  father,  and  nothing  more  is  recorded  of  his  mother.  He 
was  at  present  in  Paris.     The  evangelical  party  there  held  their 


*  Jean  Crispin,  or  Crespin,  born  in  Artois,  embraced  the  Reformation,  and  came 
to  Geneva  with  Beza  to  superintend  a  printing  establishment.  Beza  left  it  to  him 
alone.  He  was  a  learned  man ;  and  besides  presiding  over  the  printing-office,  became 
a  bookseller.  The  'Hist,  des  Martyrs,'  at  first  in  Latin,  was  afterwards  published  in 
French  by  Goulart,  1570,  en  82  nouv.  ed  en  10  livres. 

f  On  the  origin  of  the  word  Huguenot,  see  Pasquier,  '  Recherches  de  la  France,' 
p.  769,  1.  8.  Some  say  that  the  people  so  called  received  the  appellation  from  their 
defending  the  house  of  Yalois,  descended  from  JIugucs  Capet.  Others  say  that  a 
young  German  gentleman  having  been  taken  prisoner,  being  questioned  by  the 
cardinal  Lorraine,  answered  in  Latin,  Hue  nos  aJrciiimus,  but  stuttered  at  the  first 
words,  Hue  nos ;  whence  the  title  of  his  party.  Some  refer  it  to  John  Huss.  Others 
to  the  word  Heusquenaux,  seditious  people;  or  the  German,  Eidffenots.  It  was  first 
known  in  France  after  the  faction  of  Amboise,  1559.  Beza  says  that  it  sprung  from 
the  superstition  of  the  vulgar,  who  believed  that  spirits  from  purgatory  perambulated 
the  streets.  At  Paris  it  was  the  '  Moine  bourre ;'  at  Orleans,  '  Le  Mulet  Odet;'  at 
Blois,  '  Le  Lougarou ;'  at  Tours,  '  Le  Roi  Huguet.'  The  first  discovery  of  the  en- 
terprise of  Amboise  was  made  at  Tours,  and  the  appellation  descended  to  the  re- 
formers. 


a.d.  1532.]  calvin's  preaching.  33 

assemblies  id  quiet.  He  felt  himself  subdued;  and,  abandoning 
his  former  study,  gave  himself  up  altogether  to  the  service  of  the 
Gospel.  This  he  did,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  faithful,  among  whom 
was  a  merchant,  Stephen  de  la  Forge,  who  had  done  much  for 
the  truth,  and  was  subsequently  burnt.  Calvin  praises  him  in  his 
work  against  the  "Libertines,"  c.  4.  "The  memory  of  the  late 
Stephen  de  la  Forge  ought  to  be  bles=ed  among  the  faithful  as 
that  of  a  holy  martyr  of  Christ." 

Calvin  preached  with  great  force  in  the  assemblies  above  alluded 
to :  he  concluded  every  discourse  with  these  words,  "  If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?"  which  is  sufficient  to  show  the 
degree  of  strength  to  which  his  faith  had  arrived.  And  with 
what  devotion  must  he  have  been  heard  !  It  was  the  commence- 
ment of  his  labors  ;  and  already  did  he  justify  the  opinion  passed 
on  him  by  a  French  writer,  a  Catholic  and  contemporary :  "  De- 
voted otherwise  to  his  books  and  his  study,  he  was  unweariedly 
active  in  everything  which  concerned  the  advancement  of  his  sect. 
We  have  seen  our  prisons  gorged  with  poor,  mistaken  wretches, 
whom  he  exhorted  without  ceasing,  consoled  or  confirmed  by 
letters ;  nor  were  messengers  wanting,  to  whom  the  doors  were 
open,  notwithstanding  all  the  diligence  exercised  by  the  gaolers. 
Such  were  the  proceedings  by  which  he  commenced,  and  by  which 
he  gained,  step  by  step,  a  part  of  our  France.  Thus  it  went  on, 
till  after  a  considerable  length  of  time,  seeing  men's  minds  disposed 
to  his  cause,  he  wished  to  proceed  more  rapidly,  and  to  send  us 
ministers,  called  'preachers,'  to  promulgate  his  religion  in  holes 
and  corners,  and  even  in  Paris  itself,  where  the  fires  were  lit  to 
consume  them."* 

The  horrible  insensibility  with  which  men  raged  against  ihe 
Gospel  greatly  affected  Calvin.  He  resolved  therefore  to  make 
an  experiment  to  shame  the  persecutors,  and  even  the  king  him- 
self, who  was  accustomed  to  look  at  literary  productions  with 
favor.  With  this  intention,  he  published  the  two  books  of 
Seneca  de  Clementia,  accompanied  by  a  Commentary,  in  which 
he  freely  uttered  his  sentiments.  He  was  then  twenty-three 
years  old  ;  not  twenty-four,  as  Beza  says.  The  dedication  is  to 
Claude  Hangest,  Abbot  of  St.  Eloi  (Mommor),  and  is  dated 
Paris,  April  4th,  1532.  "Accept  this,  the  first  of  my  fruits.  It 
belongs  of  right  to  you  ;  for  I  owe  to  you  both  myself  and 
whatever  I  have,  and,  especially,  because  I  was  brought  up  as 

*  Pasquier,  Recherches  de  la  France,  L  8,  p.  769. 
VOL.   i. — 3 


34  LETTERS    OF    CALVIN.  [CHAP.  II. 

a  child  in  your  house."  He  modestly  states  at  the  beginning, 
that  he  ought  to  seek  an  excuse  for  his  attempt ;  "  and  so  much 
the  more,  since  I  am  a  poor  man,  and  of  inferior  rank,  endowed 
with  only  moderate,  yea  rather  with  only  a  very  little,  learning, 
and  have  nothing  which  ought  to  awaken  even  a  humble  hope 
of  renown.  And  this  feeling  of  my  unworthiness  has  till  now 
kept  me  back  from  giving  anything  to  the  public."  He  here 
shows  a  feature  of  his  character,  which  remained  the  same  to 
the  last,  that  is,  thankfulness.  But  there  is  also  discoverable 
a  certain  degree  of  confidence  that  his  work  was  far  from  being 
despicable.  "  I  am  convinced,"  he  says,  "  that  a  really  fair  critic 
will  accord  me  not  the  lowest  kind  of  praise." 

But  while  he  came  forward,  not  without  some  expectation  of 
success,  his  letters  to  Daniel  exhibit  the  anxieties  of  the  young 
author,  first  appearing  before  the  public. 

"Paris,  1532. 

"  The  books  of  Seneca  on  Clemency  are  at  last  printed,  and 
that  at  my  cost  and  by  my  labor.  We  must  now  use  our  best 
exertions  to  collect  money  from  all  quarters  to  meet  the  outlay ; 
and  further,  to  make  my  calling  sure,  I  would  fain  entreat  you 
to  write  to  me,  and  say  with  what  coldness,  or  with  wrhat  appro- 
bation, the  Commentary  has  been  received.*  I  have  nothing  to 
write  to  Chemin,  seeing  that,  often  as  he  has  been  asked,  he 
sends  no  answer.  It  is  my  firm  determination  not  to  set  out  on 
my  journey  till  he  write.  And  what  will  it  matter,  if  I  seek  a 
lodging  for  this  body  of  mine  under  the  open  heaven  for  a  few 
days,  and  lie  and  freeze?  I  send  you  a  copy,  which  you  will 
keep." 

"  Paris,  22  April. 

11  At  length  the  die  is  cast.  My  Commentaries  are  published, 
but  at  my  own  cost,  and  more  money  has  been  laid  out  than  you 
would  believe.  I  must  now  do  what  I  can  to  get  some  of  it 
back.  For  this  purpose  I  have  persuaded  certain  professors  in 
this  city  to  make  the  work  known.  I  have  induced  a  friend  in 
the  University  of  Bourges  to  do  this  from  the  chair.  You  will 
also  be  able  to  help  me.  and  you  will  do  it  for  the  sake  of  old 
friendship,  especially  as  you  can  assist  me  without  prejudice  to 
your  reputation,  and  may  even  contribute  thereby  to  the  public 
good.  If  you  resolve  to  confer  this  kindness  upon  me,  I  will 
send  you  a  hundred  copies,  or  as  many  as  you  think  fit.  In  the 
meanwhile  accept  this  copy,  and  do  not  suppose  that  any  obli- 
*  MSS.  Archiv.  Ec.  Bernenaia. 


A.D.  1532.]  CALVIN  ON  SENECA.  35 

gation  is  thereby  imposed  upon  you.  I  wish  to  leave  you  per- 
fectly free.     Farewell,  and  write  soon."  * 

We  see  at  the  end  of  the  'Life  of  Seneca,'  that  he  united  the 
two  Senecas  in  this  work,  father  and  son,  that  is,  the  rhetorician 
and  the  philosopher,  the  tutor  of  Nero,  in  one  person.  He  says, 
for  example,  reckoning  the  years  of  the  father  and  son  together, 
"He  died  115  years  old."  Calvin  had  the  work  printed  under  his 
name  in  Latin ;  and  from  this  period  he  retained  his  latinized 
appellation. 

Perilous  enough  was  the  publication  of  this  work.  Seneca 
addressed  Nero  on  the  subject  of  clemency,  and  admonished  him 
respecting  the  folly  and  danger  of  tyranny.  To  compare  the 
king  with  Nero ;  to  remind  him  that  the  time  had  arrived  when 
it  would  be  useful  for  every  king  to  read  this  lesson  ;  to  threaten 
him  by  showing  how  insecurely  a  tyrant  sits  upon  his  throne, — 
this  was  Calvin's  design :  and  as  it  was  not  allowed  him  to  speak 
out  freely,  or  in  his  own  person,  the  publication  of  an  old  work 
was  the  most  judicious  method  he  could  adopt.  Seneca,  moreover, 
was  his  favorite  writer:  his  earnest,  severe  and  virtuous  mind  was 
the  counterpart  of  his  own.  He  was  a  Stoic,  and  he  shows  in 
many  passages  of  these  books  how  far  the  virtuous  natural  man 
can  go  without  Christianity :  we  may  refer,  among  other  pas- 
sages, to  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  first  book,  in  which  the  heathen 
philosopher  describes  the  sinful  condition  of  the  human  race. 
Calvin,  however,  accuses  Seneca  of  a  want  of  logical  order,  which 
he  himself  could  not  endure. 

The  Commentary  is  an  illustration  of  the  notions  and  facts 
contained  in  the  work.  We  discover,  in  the  vast  number  of 
quotations  from  the  old  writers,  the  ardor  with  which  Calvin 
had  pursued  his  youthful  studies.  "  Not  without  justice,"  he 
observes  in  the  commentary  to  the  first  chapter,  "  has  it  been 
said  by  Plutarch,  that  it  is  difficult  to  give  counsel  to  those  who 
sit  in  the  seat  of  government.  Sovereigns  will  not  believe  that 
it  is  kingly  to  live  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  understand- 
ing ;  they  allow  the  majesty  of  the  monarch  to  rejoice  in  unbri- 
dled licentiousness.  It  is  slavish,  they  say,  to  submit  to  another's 
guidance.  Thus  they  live  after  their  own  laws  and  their  own 
customs,  or  rather  according  to  their  own  lust.  Even  in  the 
case  of  those  who  are  somewhat  more  restrained,  an  inquirer  is 
not  willingly  suffered  ;  and  hence  kings  and  princes  generally  are 

*  MSS.  Archiv.  Ec.  Bernensis. 


36  result  of  calvin's  labors.     [chap.  ii. 

perpetually  subject  to  an  evil  which  is  peculiarly  their  own,  that 
is,  pride." 

In  the  third  chapter  he  says,  "  By  the  term  Clementia  Seneca 
understands  the  most  humane  of  virtues,  that  is,  benevolence 
towards  all  men  ;  philanthropy,  the  bond  of  human  society." 
"This  virtue  is  so  suited  to  human  nature,  that  not  a  man  ex- 
ists altogether  destitute  of  its  benevolent  influence,  or  wholly 
without  gentleness ;  for  clemency  is  true  humanity,  to  be  a  par- 
taker of  which  is  nothing  else  than  to  be  a  man."  To  this  he 
adds,  that  it  is  also  an  heroic  virtue,  without  which  princes  can- 
not govern,  for  that  the  prince  can  never,  even  by  virtue,  win  the 
love  of  the  people,  if  he  fail  to  employ  his  power  for  their  true 
benefit.  The  king  may  be  distinguished  for  graces  of  person,  for 
elegance  and  cultivation  of  mind,  and  for  good  fortune ;  but  all 
will  lose  their  value,  if  he  fail,  through  want  of  gentleness,  to 
render  himself  dear  and  gracious  to  his  people.  On  the  other 
hand,  all  his  words  and  actions  will  be  viewed  with  a  friendly 
feeling,  when  he  has  once  gained  the  love  of  his  people  by  this 
virtue.  No  power  can  be  long  retained  which  is  administered  to 
the  injury  of  many.  The  king  will  pass  to  and  fro  like  a  furious 
wild  beast  amid  prostrate  crowds  of  men,  but  in  every  man  he  has 
an  enemy.  Thence  may  the  wicked  better  understand  his  true 
interest,  when,  misusing  his  greatness  in  order  to  make  many 
miserable,  he  arms  them  all  against  himself." 

Seneca  appears,  in  the  fifth  chapter,  "  against  unjust  anger," 
to  have  written  especially  for  the  instruction  of  Francis.  In  the 
twenty-sixth  Calvin  says,  "He  here  shows  how  dangerous  it  is  for 
the  ruler  to  resign  himself  to  a  cruel  and  wrathful  disposition ;  first, 
because  there  are  so  many  to  take  revenge  ;  and  secondly,  because, 
were  he  even  in  perfect  security,  cruelty  is  in  itself  so  horrible  and 
detestable,  that  it  is  accursed  and  deserving  of  the  curse.  Lastly, 
he  shows  how  far  such  a  savage  feeling  ought  to  be  from  the  soul 
of  a  prince.  The  ruin  of  others  is  the  ruin  of  power :  that  which 
promotes  the  welfare  of  the  whole,  and  of  the  individual,  estab- 
lishes majesty." 

But  the  labors  of  Calvin  were  as  fruitless  as  those  of  Seneca, 
and  were  lost  without  an  echo  or  a  trace  in  the  troubled  and 
noisy  sea  of  passion.  In  this  very  year  (1532)  Francis  formed 
a  close  alliance  with  the  pope  against  the  emperor.  A  report 
also  prevailed  at  this  period,  that  a  general  council  was  soon  to 
be  held,  which  would  put  an  end  to  the  present  divisions  in  the 
church. 


a.d.  1533.]  calvin's  escape.  37 

A  letter  from  Calvin  to  Bucer,  dated  from  Noyon  in  September, 
1532,  shows  that  he  was  already  in  communion  with  the  reform- 
ers of  Strasburg,  and  affords  proof  of  his  ardent  disposition.  He 
is  recommending  to  Bucer  some  fugitive,  much  vilified  and  ac- 
cused of  being  an  Anabaptist,  and  says,  "  If  my  prayers,  if  my 
tears  can  avail  anything,  I  beseech  you,  Bucer,  render  him  help 
in  his  necessity.  We  commit  him  to  you  in  his  poverty  ;  you  will, 
I  know,  be  the  friend  of  the  desolate  ;  do  not  allow  him  to  suffer 
the  extreme  of  misery." 

Calvin  soon  found  occasion  to  declare  himself  more  openly. 
Acknowledged  as  the  head  of  the  reformed  party  in  France,  his 
first  and  greatest  object  was  to  reform  Paris  and  the  court,  and  in 
this  manner  to  produce  a  new  movement,  which  might  be  propa- 
gated through  the  whole  kingdom.  Nicolas  Cop,  the  newly 
elected  rector  of  the  Sorbonne  in  Paris,  was  obliged,  according  to 
custom,  to  pronounce  an  oration  on  the  day  on  which  the 
Catholics  hold  the  feast  of  la  Toussaint.  Calvin  prepared  this 
speech,  to  be  delivered  by  the  rector  on  so  solemn  a  day,  and  be- 
fore the  whole  of  Paris.  He  spoke  with  great  freedom  on  the 
pure  Gospel,  and  on  justification  by  faith.  Cop  read  it.  The 
Sorbonne  and  the  parliament  could  not  leave  so  open  an  attack 
uncensured.* 

Cop  intended  at  first  to  appear  before  the  tribunal ;  but  per- 
ceiving his  danger,  he  fled  to  Basel,  his  native  city.  Calvin  was 
now  sought  for.  Jean  Morin,  one  of  the  fiercest  of  persecutors, 
went  himself  to  his  lodging  ;  but  he  was  not  to  be  found.  Ac- 
cording to  one  report,  the  officers  were  already  at  the  door,  when 
he  was  let  down  by  ropes  from  the  window  in  a  basket ;  and 
another  account  states  that  he  escaped  in  the  garb  of  a  vinedress- 
er.t  This  narrative  is  not  admitted  by  Beza  ;  but  it  was  popu- 
larly received,  and  has  been  many  times  repeated  ;  among  others, 
by  P.  Masson. 

Though  Calvin  himself  escaped,  his  papers  were  seized,  and 
many  of  his  friends  were  thereby  exposed  to  great  danger.  The 
reformers,  however,  sent  Calvin  to  the  queen  of  Navarre,  who  re- 
ceived him  with  affection,  spoke  to  the  angry  monarch,  quieted 
the  storm,  and  lessened  the  general  irritation. 


*  Beza  (Hist.  Eccles.  t.  i.  p.  14)  says  that  Cop  pronounced  an  oration  prepared  for 
him  by  Calvin,  and  of  a  character  altogether  different  from  the  ordinary  one.  Cop 
was  summoned,  and  officers  were  sent  to  the  College  de  Forneret,  where  Calvin 
lodged ;  but  the  warnings  of  their  friends  enabled  both  to  escape. 

f  Desmay.     Drelincourt. 


38  CALVIN    AND    SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  II. 

Though  the  first  bold  experiment  had  not  succeeded,  and  the 
young  reformer  was  obliged  to  live  an  unsettled  and  fugitive  life 
in  France,  his  operations,  instead  of  being  suspended,  were  even 
rendered  the  more  effective.  He  scattered  the  seed  of  the  Gospel 
on  every  side.  His  acquaintance  with  the  queen  gave  a  new  im- 
pulse to  his  zeal.  On  the  point  of  perishing,  like  Moses,  in  his 
cradle,  this  noble  woman  delivered  him  from  the  danger.  Calvin 
first  retired  again  into  Saintonge,  where  he  prepared  some  short 
sermons,  which  were  read  by  the  pastors  of  the  district,  and 
served  to  introduce  the  people  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
The  friend  who  induced  him  to  undertake  this  work,  and  who 
afterwards  fled  with  him  into  Switzerland,  was  Louis  Tillet 
(brother  of  Jean  Tillet,  register  of  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  of 
Tillet  bishop  of  Meaux),  but  who  is  not  named  by  Beza.  He 
knew  him  at  a  later  period,  when  Calvin  travelled  to  Geneva,  and 
drew  him  out  of  his  concealment.  We  soon  after  find  him  at 
Nerac,  the  residence  of  queen  Margaret  of  Navarre.  Here  too  he 
met,  for  the  first  time,  the  tutor  of  the  king's  children,  Lefevre 
d'Etaples.  who,  fleeing  from  the  persecution  of  the  Sorbonne, 
found  protection  with  the  queen  of  Navarre.  This  venerable  old 
man  saw  with  a  penetrating  glance  the  force  of  Calvin's  spirit, 
and  foretold  his  future  greatness.* 

Calvin  remained  some  little  time  in  Angouleme.  Tracest  of 
his  residence  there  long  existed  in  the  country  ;  a  vineyard  was 
known  as  Calvin's  vineyard  150  years  after  his  death.  He  lived 
with  Louis  Tillet,  and  employed  this  anxious  period  in  his  own 
improvement.  It  must  have  been  now  that  he  prepared  the  first 
sketch  of  the  '  Institutions. '+  In  1533  he  boldly  ventured  to  return 
to  Paris,  where  the  persecution  was  still  raging  violently,  conduct- 
ed thither,  as  it  would  have  seemed,  by  the  providence  of  God, 
for  the  prevention  of  a  great  evil  which  still  however  burdens  and 
troubles  the  reformed  church. 

Servetus,§  who  was  hereafter  to  encounter  Calvin  in  such 
gloomy  circumstances,  had  already  begun  to  difi'use  his  errors. 


*  Such  a  prophecy  was  delivered  concerning  Luther.  As  he  lay  sick  (Mathesius, 
p.  2),  an  old  priest  foretold  that  he  would  not  die,  but  become  a  great  man. 

■)■   Drelincourt,  p.  40. 

X  Some  say  that  he  composed  the  greater  part  of  his  '  Institutions'  at  Claix,  in  the 
house  of  Louis  dti  Tillet. — Bayle. 

§  In  the  year  15:11,  Servetus,  who  also  called  himself  Roves,  a  physician  from  Ar- 
ragon,  published  seven  little  books  at  Basel, 'De  Trinitatis  Erwwibus,'  and  which 
•were  translated  into  Dutch,  1G20.  The  printer  of  this  translation  was  put  to  death. 
(Ecolampadius  disputed  with  Servetus  in  1530,  but  in  vain. 


a.d.  1534.]  calvin's  l  psychopannychia.'  39 

He  was  now  in  the  country,  and  appointed  the  day  and  hour  for 
a  meeting  with  Calvin,  whose  reputation  was  so  rapidly  increas- 
ing. Calvin  willingly  agreed  to  the  conference,  perilous  as  it 
was  for  him  to  come  forth  at  this  time,  when  he  was  singled  out 
by  the  persecutors,  and  was  known  as  an  open  censurer  of  the 
king.  But  how  easily  might  a  friendly  conversation  have  united 
these  two  men  in  the  bonds  of  amity, — have  led  the  Spaniard, 
still  young,  into  the  right  path,  or  at  least  have  preserved  Calvin, 
through  the  influence  of  personal  knowledge,  from  yielding  to  an 
unmeasured  abhorrence  of  his  doctrines  !  Servetus  however  did 
not  appear,  and  from  this  hour  he  hastened  towards  the  consum- 
mation of  his  dark  fate.  Beza  speaks  of  him,  as  "  that  un- 
happy monster,  who,  having  agreed  to  dispute,  dare  not  appear;" 
and  another  says,  that  "he  could  not  endure  to  look  the  lion  in 
the  face ;"  an  assertion  not  to  be  depended  on,  for  the  young  Ser- 
vetus was  remarkable  for  his  courage.  "  I  reminded  Servetus,  in 
the  prison,"*  says  Calvin,  "shortly  preceding  his  death,  that  six- 
teen years  before,  not  without  danger  to  my  earthly  life,  I  offered 
to  deliver  him  from  his  errors ;  and  it  would  not  have  been  my 
fault,  had  he  manifested  repentance,  if  all  pious  men  had  not 
given  him  their  hand."  From  Paris  Servetus  went  to  Orleans, 
where  the  Franciscan  monks  were  then  carrying  on  their  infa- 
mous tricks  with  pretended  spectres  and  miracles. 

The  fury  of  the  storm  which  raged  against  the  evangelical 
party  increased  every  day,  and  Calvin  resolved  to  leave  his  native 
country.  He  found  opportunity  however  to  publish  at  Orleans 
his  work  against  the  notion  of  the  soul's  sleep,  entitled  '  Psycho- 
pannychia,' 1534. 

It  was  a  season  of  great  calamity  to  the  church.  While  Francis 
was  carrying  on  the  work  of  persecution  in  his  kingdom,  as  we 
shall  relate  hereafter,  affairs  were  not  improved  in  England, 
where  Henry  VIII.  had  already  assumed  the  title  of  head  of  the 
church,  and  was  now,  in  1534,  solemnly  acknowledged  such  by 
parliament.  How  Calvin  opposed  himself  to  this  proceeding  we 
learn  from  a  passage  in  Thuanus.t  There  is  one  also  in  his 
Commentary  on  the  prophet  Amos,  vii.  13,  in  which  he  thus 
speaks  :    "  They  who  so  greatly  exalted  king  Henry  at  the  begin- 

*  Joh.  C.  Refutatio  Erroruua  Serveti.  Ed.  Amst.  t.  viii.  p.  511.  Calvin  is  suspected 
of  having  fallen  into  an  error  respecting  the  date  of  the  invitation  alluded  to. 

\  J.  A.  Thuanus.  Hist,  sui  temporis,  1.  i.  p.  16.  "  Alicubi  Calvinus,  qui  abrogatam 
Pontificis  in  Anglia  potestatem  non  regre  ferebat,  sibi  acriter  animum  pupugisse  tes 
tatus  est,  quod  se  Henricus  caput  ecclesiae  appellaret." 


40  CALVIN  AT  BASEL.  [CHAP.  II. 

ning  were  certainly  a  very  inconsiderate  people.  They  gave  him 
thereby  unlimited  power  over  all ;  and  I  have  been  always  deeply 
distressed  at  this,  since  there  were  flatterers  who  did  not  hesitate 
to  call  him  the  highest  authority  in  the  church,  under  Christ. 
This  was  going  too  far." 

The  Anabaptists  were  now  agitating  Germany,  and  were 
spreading  into  France  ;  but  in  the  year  1535  the  city  of  Munster 
was  taken,  and  the  sect  dispersed.  The  League  of  Smalcalde  was 
also  renewed  for  the  protection  of  the  church,  and  Charles 
undertook  his  prosperous  crusade  against  Barbarossa  in  Tunis. 
Calvin  hastened  from  Paris  and  Orleans  to  Basel,  where  he, 
immediately  after  the  '  Psychopannychia,'  probably  at  the  begin- 
ning of  August,  prepared  for  publication  the  first  edition  of  the 
'Institutions.' 

On  this  journey  he  and  his  friend  Tillet  were  robbed  by  their 
servant  in  the  neighborhood  of  Metz,  and  it  was  only  through  the 
assistance  of  another  that  they  were  enabled,  stripped  of  every- 
thing, to  make  their  way  to  Strasburg. 

A  new  life  was  now  opened  to  Calvin.  He  became  personally 
known  to  the  German  reformers ;  they  did  not  look  upon  him  as 
a  stranger ;  he  was  one.  with  them,  and  his  solidity  and  conscien- 
tiousness found  an  echo  in  the  German  character.  At  Basel, 
Calvin  met  for  the  first  time  the  learned  Simon  Grynams,*  who, 
both  as  a  theologian  and  philologist,  gave  lectures  on  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and,  with  still  greater  success,  on  the  old  classic 
writers.  He  also  formed  an  intimacy  with  Wolfgang  Capito,  who 
had  already  laid  the  foundation  of  reform  at  Basel.  Under  his 
guidance  he  now  devoted  himself  with  ardor  to  the  study  of 
Hebrew. 

A  curious  anecdote  is  related  of  these  times,  but  which  cannot 
without  some  question  be  admitted  into  history.  The  Catholic 
Flor.  de  Raimond  writes,  that  Tillet  hastened  after  his  brother, 
led  him  back  to  France,  and  left  Calvin  in  Germany,  where,  with 
RulTus  (Roux),  he  saw  Bucer,  and  the  others  who  troubled  the 
consciences  of  the  people.  Bucer,  it  is  said,  took  him  to  Erasmus. 
That,  eminent  man  conversed  a  long  time  with  him  ;  and  after 
entering  into  his  reasonings,  turned  to  Beza,  and,  pointing  at  him, 
said,  "  I  see  there  a  great  plague  in  the  church,  ready  to  break  out 
against  the  church." 

:+  He  Lodged,  at  the  Diet  of  Worm9,  in  1540, -with  Melancthon  and  Calvin,  and 
died  1541.     His  relative,  Joh.  Jac.  Grynams,  was  also  professor  at  Basel  in  1575. 


A.D.  1535.]  THE    ANABAPTISTS.  41 

In  opposition  to  this  account,  we  may  remark,  that  the  journey 
of  Ruffus  into  Germany  was  made  at  the  beginning  of  the  Refor- 
mation, about  the  year  1523.  Sturmius  writes  :  "  Capito  and 
Bucer  had  both  such  a  call  at  the  beginning,  that  Jacob  Faber 
and  Gerhard  Ruffus  secretly  journeyed  from  France  in  order  to 
hear  them.  They  were  sent  by  the  queen  of  Navarre."*  A 
second  journey  of  Ruffus  must  therefore  be  supposed,  but  for  this 
history  affords  no  foundation.  At  the  time  of  the  first  journey 
Calvin  was  in  Paris.t 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    WORK    ON   THE    SOUL'S    SLEEP,  ENTITLED  '  PSYCHOPANNY- 
CHIA.' THE    ANABAPTISTS. 

In  the  natural  development  of  the  powers  of  the  age  which  we 
are  describing,  the  sudden  exaltation  of  the  human  spirit  was  al- 
most unavoidably  connected  with  some  unhealthy  circumstances. 
Thus,  as  Luther  had  to  contend  with  the  fanaticism  of  the 
peasants,  with  Carlstadt,  and  with  the  Anabaptists,  so  was  it  in 
Calvin's  case.  The  fanatics,  when  their  fire  was  gone  out  in 
Gerrnany,  removed  to  other  lands.  In  France  they  pretended  to 
cultivate  a  simple  Christianity,  and  became  a  great  hindrance 
to  the  Reformers.  They  not  only  made  it  easy  for  the  subtle 
enemies  of  the  truth  to  substitute  wild  heresies  for  the  genuine 
substance  of  the  Gospel,  but  by  their  half-intelligible,  fantastic, 
imitative  notions,  which  it  was  not  easy  for  every  one  to  refute, 
they  disturbed  that  new  oneness  of  doctrine  which  was  happily 
about  to  be  established.  Calvin,  who  was  compelled  to  wage  con- 
stant warfare  with  this  sect,  published  a  work  in  1544,  in  which 
he  appealed  to  first  principles,  and  confuted  both  the  Anabaptists 
themselves  and  the  spiritual  libertines,  a  wretched,  pantheistical 
offset  from  the  same  party. 

The  fundamental  error  of  the  Anabaptists,  it  is  rightly  observed 
by  M'Crie,£  sprung  from  their  vain  imagination  of  a  certain 
ideal  spirituality  and  perfection,  by  which  they  supposed  the 
Christian  church  to  be  really  separated  from  the  Jewish,  which 
they  persisted   in   considering   as   a  mere   carnal,  temporal   and 

*  Antipappus,  iv.  p.  1,  p.  8. 

f  Barckhusen,  Historische  Nachricht  iiber  Calvin,  p.  24. 

i  Life  of  Knox.     Plank,  pp.  268—272. 


42  calvin's  'psychopannychia.'  [chap.  hi. 

visible  society.  Through  this  notion  they  were  tempted  greatly  to 
abridge  both  the  rule  of  faith  and  the  rule  of  action,  which  Chris- 
tianity imposes  on  its  disciples.  They  confined  themselves  almost 
entirely  to  the  New  Testament,  and  at  the  same  time  contended 
against  the  lawfulness  of  infant  baptism,  of  temporal  governments, 
and  national  churches;  against  that  of  oaths,  of  war,  and  self- 
defence.  Besides  exhibiting  these  peculiarities,  most  of  the  Ana- 
baptists of  this  period  were  infected  with  the  poison  of  the  Arian 
and  Pelagian  heresies,  and  rejected,  in  common  with  the  papists, 
all  the  principles  set  forth  by  the  reformers  on  the  subject  of  grace 
and  predestination. 

It  was  against  these  fanatics  that  Calvin  directed,  in  the  first 
instance,  his  work  on  the  '  Sleep  of  the  Soul.'  In  the  preface  he 
says,  "  that  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  sleep  is  not  new ;  for  we 
read  that  it  was  first  propounded  by  certain  Arabians,  who  said 
that  the  soul  dies  as  well  as  the  body,  and  that  both  will  reawake 
at  the  day  of  judgment.  At  a  later  period  John,  bishop  of  Rome, 
maintained  the  same  opinion,  but  was  constrained  by  the  sorbon- 
nists  of  Paris  to  retract  it." 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  fulness  of  thought,  the  force  of 
reasoning,  and  the  originality  which  mark  this  as  well  as  the 
later  writings  of  the  author.  Still  more  striking  is  the  matured 
faith  out  of  which  the  argument  springs,  and  the  only  foundation 
of  which  is  the  holy  Scriptures.  But  there  is  a  good  deal  of  bit- 
terness in  his  attacks  on  those  who  uphold  the  contrary  opinion: 
he  employs  the  force  of  his  irony  against  them,  and  calls  them 
sleepers  and  dreamers,  because  they  defended  the  notion  of  our 
sleeping  after  death.  He  afterwards  felt  that  he  had  been  guilty 
of  undue  severity,  and  in  another  preface,  written  ten  years  after 
the  former,  he  says,  "  I  perceive  that  some  things  have  been  said 
a  little  too  sharply,  and  that  they  may  perhaps  wound  delicate 
ears.  But  as  I  know  that  there  are  good  people  who  have  allowed 
this  notion  of  the  soul's  sleeping  to  enter  their  minds,  I  should 
wish  to  prevent  their  being  offended  with  me." 

The  Anabaptists,  however,  were  very  far  from  being  sensible 
of  his  earnestness.  He  had  already  given  ample  proof  of  his 
firm  and  unflinching  resolution.  "I  have  deliberated  so  much 
about  attacking  them,  that  if  they  resist  they  shall  find  me  a 
constant  defender  of  the  truth  ;  and  though  I  may  not  be  suffi- 
ciently learned,'  yet  dare  I  boldly  promise  this,  that,  by  the  grace 
if  God,  they  shall  find  me  invincible."  How  he  judged  himself 
may  be  seen  by  the  following  :  "  I  have  never  directed  my  indig- 


a.d.  1535.]         calvin's  'psychopannychia.'  43 

nation  against  them  except  modestly  ;  I  have  always  shown 
myself  distrustful  of  violent  and  cutting  words,  and  have  almost 
uniformly  so  tempered  my  style,  that  it  has  been  better  calculated 
to  teach  than  to  force  assent,  and  to  attract  those  who  would  not 
willingly  be  led." 

Calvin's  subject  is  very  interesting,  but  it  is  only  intelligible 
from  the  standing-point  afforded  by  the  belief  of  the  church.  He 
proves  his  opinion  simply  from  the  exposition  of  certain  passages 
of  Scripture,  Chat  the  soul  lives,  works,  and  develops  itself  after 
death  ;  and  that  the  rest  in  the  grave  can  only  be  called  eternal 
peace,  which  even  now  progressively  casts  light  upon  the  spirit. 
The  argument  of  those  who  err  on  the  subject  consists  in  this: 
they  adduce  passages  from  Scripture  which  seem  to  support  the 
notion  of  the  sleep  of  the  soul,  and  Calvin  opposed  them  victo- 
riously with  the  same  weapons. 

There  still  remain,  however,  many  questions  to  be  answered, 
and  which  have  more  or  less  employed  every  awakened  Chris- 
tian mind.  As,  for  example,  whether  that  close  bond  which 
unites  man  to  nature,  and  the  sleep  which  returns  by  natural 
necessity  after  the  labor  of  the  day,  do  not  indicate  that  there  will 
be  a  rest  after  death,  if  even  only  for  a  short  duration  ?  Whether 
there  be  not  in  the  present  mortal  body  a  germ,  out  of  which  the 
new,  finer,  and  more  spiritual  organization  may  develop  itself? 
And  whether  this  new  development  may  not  be  the  resurrection 
of  the  flesh  which  we  are  instructed  to  believe,  and  which  may  be 
the  key  to  the  mystery  ?  Bonnet,  in  the  '  Palingenesia,'  speaks 
of  a  germ  which  has  its  seat  in  the  brain :  Origen  makes  men- 
tion of  a  first  principle  of  the  body.  In  this,  his  language  is  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  Leibnitz,  who  speaks  only,  in  general,  of  the 
indestructible  monads  of  the  bodily  part  of  men  and  animals.  But 
he  represents  his  monads  as  actually  distinct ;  and  recognizes  the 
real  and  the  eternal  in  the  individual,  in  opposition  to  the  theory 
of  Spinoza. 

These  ideas,  as  well  as  the  fear  which  precedes  the  death  of 
the  individual,  and  the  struggle  for  distinct,  personal  existence, 
are  not  clearly  expressed,  and  seemed  to  have  exercised  but  little 
influence  on  the  mind.  Other  questions  are  connected  with  the 
same  subject.  As,  in  what  relation  does  our  resurrection  stand 
to  that  of  our  Lord?  Whether  man,  without  sin,  was  not  capa- 
ble of  a  resurrection  or  a  change,  like  that  which  took  place  in 
our  Lord,  when  his  human  organization  was  snatched  from  hu- 
man observation  ?     And,  again,  how  we  are  to  understand  the 


44  calvin's  'psychopannychia.'  [chap.  III. 

orthodox  system,  according  to  the  words  and  in  the  sense  of  St. 
Paul,  when  the  substance  of  the  body  is  dispersed  in  the  ele- 
ments? These  questions  are  left  untouched  by  Calvin,  and  he 
thus  states  his  reasons  for  not  answering  them : — (:  I  know  what 
a  charm  there  is  in  novelty  for  some  ears ;  but  we  ought  to  re- 
member, that  there  is  but  one  Word  of  life,  which  proceeds  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord."  As  they  err  who  attribute  novelty  to  the 
word  of  God,  when  it  re-appears  in  its  own  pure  splendor,  so  on 
the  other  hand  do  they  sin  who  allow  themselves  to  be  shaken 
like  a  reed  by  every  wind  which  blows.  M  Is  this  to  learn  Jesus 
Christ,  when  without  the  Word  of  God  we  lend  our  ears  to  every 
kind  of  doctrine,  even  though  it  be  true  ?  If  we  once  receive  doc- 
trine as  it  comes  from  man,  shall  we  not  soon  also  swallow  lies 
with  like  facility  ?  For  what  has  man  of  his  own  except  vanity  ? 
Let  us  show  ourselves  obedient  disciples  of  the  Lord  ;  such  as  he 
wishes  us  to  be,  that  is,  humble,  poor,  pretending  to  no  wisdom  of 
our  own,  full  of  zeal  to  learn,  knowing  nothing, — not  seeking  to 
know  anything  except  that  which  he  shall  teach  us ;  and,  still 
more,  avoiding  as  deadly  poison  everything  which  is  foreign  or 
opposed  to  his  doctrine.  I  would  repress  the  foolish  curiosity  of 
those  who  discuss  questions  which  in  reality  produce  only  torment 
of  mind." 

Having  stated  the  question  in  dispute,  and  defined  the  soul  and 
the  spirit,  the  order  and  the  method  being  thus  already  shown,* 
he  proves  by  many  passages  that  the  soul,  which  by  nature  is  dis- 
tinct from  the  body,  continues  to  live  on ;  and  that  Christ  and 
Stephen  in  their  last  words  did  not  refer  to  the  life  which  vanishes, 
but  to  the  spirit  which  endures.  So  Peter  also  shows  that  he  be- 
lieved the  dead  to  have  a  spirit,  since  he  says  that  Christ 
preached  to  the  spirits,  that  is,  to  believers,  forgiveness, — to  the 
unbelieving,  punishment.  The  holy  fathers  were  in  darkness  or 
in  prison,  and  now  only  saw  the  dawning  of  the  day.  Christ,  in 
spirit,  preached  to  these  spirits;  that  is,  the  power  of  redemption 
was  made  known  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  "Let  us  now," 
he  proceeds,  speak  of  the  history  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus, 
who  after  the  sufferings  of  this  life  was  carried  into  Abraham's 
bosom,  but  the  rich  man  into  hell.  Are  these  dreams  and 
fables?     But  to  escape   the  force  of  this  argument,  our  antag- 

•  The  soul  is  spiritual,  because  it  is  the  spirit  which  is  nfter  the  image  of  God. 
Christ  confuted  the  Sadducees,  who  acknowledged  no  spirit.  The  primitive  church 
believed  the  resurrection,  and  Polycarp  died  saying  that  he  should  that  day  stand  in 
the  spirit  before  God.     Melito  wrote  on  this  subject. 


A.D.  1535.]  CALVIN'S    '  PSYCHOPANNYCHIA.'  45 

onists  answer,  this  was  only  a  parable.  I  beg  them  however  to 
adduce  a  single  example  from  Scripture  where  a  man  is  men- 
tioned by  his  proper  name  in  a  parable.  What  do  these  Avoids 
signify  ?  '  There  was  a  man  whose  name  was  Lazarus.'  The 
Word  of  God  must  be  a  lie,  or  this  is  a  true  relation.  The  fathers 
of  the  church  treat  it  as  such.  Now  let  them  go  and  sell  their 
empty  nut-shells  in  the  open  day  ;  they  will  always  fall  into  the 
same  snare.  And  even  were  it  a  parable,  it  is  still  a  similitude  in 
which  truth  is  embodied ;  and  if  these  great  theologians  know  it 
not  already,  let  them  go  and  learn  from  their  grammar  that  a 
parable  signifies  a  similitude,  borrowed  from  the  real  world."* 

*  We  would  now  say  somewhat  respecting  the  peace  of  pious 
souls  separated  from  the  body.  Holy  Scripture,  by 'Abraham's 
bosom,'  intends  us  to  understand  nothing  more  than  the  state  of 
rest.  In  the  first  place,  then,  we  call  rest  that  which  those  mas- 
terly theologians  call  sleep  ;  and  by  rest  we  understand,  not  a 
state  of  stupor,  torpidity,  or  drunkenness,  as  they  do,  but  a  state 
of  conscious,  happy  security  and  trust,  which  faith  indeed  ahead}' 
in  some  degree  bestows  upon  us,  but  which  cannot  be  perfected 
till  after  death.  Here  upon  earth  the  life  of  the  pious  is  a  con- 
flict, because,  not  yet  free  from  sin,  their  only  hope  is  in  God's 
mercy,  and  their  spirit  is  still  vexed  with  anxiety.  But  when 
they  have  altogether  cast  off  the  flesh,  and  the  power  of  its  allure- 
ments, which  like  domestic  enemies  so  disturb  their  tranquillity, 
then  will  they  enjoy  peace  and  live  with  God.  St.  John  speaks 
clearly  :  '  Blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  they  rest 
from  their  labor.'  This,  therefore,  is  Abraham's  bosom, — peace, 
and  Abraham's  rest,  and  slumber, — in  so  far  as  that  word  is  not 
perverted  by  the  unclean  mouth  of  these  sleepers.  For  what 
greater  joy  can  the  conscience  feel,  in  what  can  it  more  securely 
rest,  than  in  that  peace  which  opens  to  it  the  treasure  of  heavenly 
grace,  and  makes  the  soul  drunken  with  the  sweetness  of  the 
cup  of  the  Lord?  But  you,  sir  sleeper!  when  you  hear  the 
word  'drunken,'  think  you  not  of  your  headaches,  and  your 
senseless  dreamings,  and  heavy  carnal  sleep?  That  is,  of  all 
the  evils  which  arise  from  drunkenness?  for  according  to  your 
gross,  dull  mind,  so  must  you  understand  it.  But  they  whom 
God  has  taught  understand  by  this  expression  rest, — the  rest  of 
the  conscience,  which  the  Lord  bestows  upon  his  people  in  the 
house  of  peace." 

*  Op.  C.  Ed.  Amst.  1667,  t.  viii.  p.  340. 


46  calvin's  '  psychopannychia.'  [chap.  hi. 

From  this  he  proceeds  to  show  that  our  soul  is  immortal,  be- 
cause Christ  is  not  hold  en  by  death,  but  is  arisen.  We  are  his 
members,  and  we  must  sever  the  members  from  the  body,  if  we 
would  deprive  them  of  life.  Here  he  pours  forth  the  whole  ful- 
ness of  his  Christian  feeling-,  the  strength  of  his  faith,  which  will 
know  nothing  whatever  of  the  doubts  of  the  understanding,  and 
speaks  in  the  same  language  of  assurance  as  in  the  latest  of  his 
writings.  "Christ,"  says  he,  "has  life  in  himself,  as  a  stream 
eternally  flowing  from  the  Father,  in  whom  is  his  life ;  a  fulness 
of  life,  with  which  he  quickens  his  people.  Although  he  was 
dead,  and  body  and  soul  were  separated,  yet  did  the  soul  remain 
living  in  God.  But  if  Christ  be  our  life,  they  who  contend  that 
our  life  is  terminated  by  the  death  of  the  body,  must  first  tear 
Christ  from  the  right  hand  of  God,  and  consign  him  to  a  second 
death,  or  they  cannot  shake  our  faith.  Christ,  that  gracious 
Lord,  watched  for  you  and  your  salvation,  but  you  will  sleep  in 
your  darkness,  and  not  hear  the  watcher  in  the  night.  If  we 
could  comprehend,  by  true  belief,  what  is  meant  by  the  kingdom 
of  God,  which  is  now  in  us,  it  would  also  be  easy  for  us  to  under- 
stand the  eternal  life  already  begun  in  us."  But  the  whole  is  too 
excellent  to  admit  of  extract. 

Some  passages  on  eternal  life,  and  illustrative  of  the  different 
sentiments  of  spleenish  controversialists,  follow  the  above.  "  This 
is  what  we  believe;  but  those  sleepers  will  continue  to  sleep  on, 
till  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  awake  them,  and  terrify  them 
as  a  thief  in  the  night.  This  life  in  Christ  is  blessed,  joyous, 
and  not  a  sleep.  Mention  is  often  made  in  holy  Scripture  of 
martyrs  who  live  after  death.  Christ,  moreover,  says  to  the 
thief  crucified  with  him,  '  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
paradise ;'  and  this  '  to-day'  does  not  refer  to  the  distant  period 
of  the  resurrection.  Let  us  then  hold  fast  this  belief,  which  is 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  prophecy,  upon  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel,  and  upon  Christ  himself;  namely,  that  the  spirit  is  the 
image  of  God,  and  therefore  has  inward  strength,  intelligence, 
and  eternity.  Even  while  it  is  in  this  body  it  gives  evidence 
of  its  powers.  When  it  leaves  its  prison-house,  it  hastens  to  God, 
and  enjoys  his  presence  in  the  hope  of  a  happy  resurrection. 
This  rest  is  its  paradise.  The  spirit  of  the  damned,  on  the 
contrary,  over  which  hangs  the  terrible  judgment  of  God,  is 
filled  with  honor  at  looking  for  that  which  is  to  come,  and 
which  the  Apostle  describes  as  so  fearful.  To  wish  to  know 
more,  is  to  inquire  into  the  deep  mysteries  of  God  ;  whereas  it 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  '  psychopannychia.'  47 

is  enough  for  us  to  know  what  the  holy  Spirit,  a  sufficiently  good 
instructor,  has  been  willing  to  teach  us.  He  says,  '  Hear  me,  and 
your  soul  shall  live,'  Isai.  lv.  3.  And  how  beautiful  is  the  follow- 
ing in  comparison  with  their  inventions !  '  The  souls  of  the 
righteous  are  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  the  terror  of  death 
shall  not  harm  them.  Fools  think  they  die,  but  their  souls  are 
in  peace.'  Wisdom,  iii.  1." 

Having  proved  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  objections  of 
opponents  are  next  answered. 

"  We  will  now  examine  the  materials  and  the  swaddling-clothes 
with  which  these  reasoners  envelop  their  slumbering  souls,  and 
the  opiates  which  they  give  them  to  produce  sleep."  To  the 
argument  of  disbelievers,  that  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was 
lost  by  sin,  he  replies :  This  is  false :  the  death  of  the  soul  is 
something  altogether  different.  Those  who  are  sanctified  die,  but 
their  death  is  only  a  transit  to  eternal  happiness."  To  the  ob- 
jection that  death  is  continually  named  in  Scripture  as  a  sleep,  he 
answers,  that  "  sleep  is  a  metaphorical  expression,  as  may  be 
proved  by  many  instances.  Thus  a  churchyard  is  called  a  ceme- 
tery,— a  resting-place  indeed  of  bodies,  but  not  of  souls.  From 
this  time  to  the  day  of  judgment  the  powers  of  the  soul  will  suf- 
fer no  torpor." 

Calvin  rightly  suppose  that  there  is  a  future  state  of  happi- 
ness, which  shall  continue  till  the  resurrection,  when  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  receive  us  forever.  He  adduces  Tertullian,  Irenaeus, 
Chrysostom,  Augustin,  and  Jerome,  all  of  whom  speak  of  dwelling- 
places,  receptacula,  where  the  souls  of  the  righteous  will  remain 
till  they  receive  the  crown  of  righteousness  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. 

"  Christ  is  our  life."  This  was  so  firmly  rooted  in  his  soul, 
that  it  was  become  his  own  second  life ;  and  on  this  point  he 
would  not  allow  his  opponents  the  advantage  of  a  single  doubt.* 

*  This  little  work,  says  Dr.  Paul  Henry,  might  prove  useful  if  translated,  with  the 
omission,  on  the  one  hand,  of  some  harsh  and  polemical  expressions,  and  some  addi- 
tions, on  the  other,  from  the  second  work  against  the  Anabaptists,  in  which  the  sub- 
ject is  more  fully  developed. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

calvin  endeavors  to    convert  francis    i. — persecution 
in  France. — calvin's  institutes. 

While  Calvin  was  employed  in  confuting  the  notion  of  the 
soul's  sleep,  a  far  greater  design  took  possession  of  his  thoughts, — 
the  conversion,  that  is,  of  the  king.  As  Luther  once  stood  op- 
posed to  the  emperor  Charles,  for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel,  so 
now  would  Calvin  for  that  of  his  fellow-believers  oppose  himself 
to  the  king  of  France.  This  prince  enjoys  a  fame  far  above  his 
deserts.  He  patronized  the  sciences  and  protected  men  of  learn- 
ing, and  they  in  return  crowned  him  with  honor.  The  world  also 
willingly  accords  praise  to  the  weak  in  their  struggles  with  the 
powerful,  and  Charles  V.  found  the  king  of  France  the  only  ob- 
stacle to  his  uninterrupted  course. 

But  in  church  history,  where  the  holy  Spirit  and  not  the  politi- 
cal world,  passes  sentence,  the  worldly,  prudent,  and  ambitious 
sinner  wears  but  a  sorry  look.  What  does  it  help  him  to  shine 
forth  by  his  acts  or  by  his  station,  as  the  mirror  of  knighthood  in 
his  kingdom,  or  to  have  been  for  France  what  Leo  was  for  Italy  ? 
By  his  obstinate  and  unconquerable  hatred  to  pure  doctrine,  and 
by  his  fanatical  zeal,  he  inflicted  upon  the  church  and  upon  his 
country  immeasurable  disgrace.  He  who  had  time  to  visit  the 
workshops  of  artists,  could  not  spare  an  hour  to  examine  the  faith 
of  the  reformed.  Beza,  who  seems  to  have  admired  his  outward 
gifts,  says  indeed,  "  This  king  was  not  like  those  who  succeeded 
him.  He  was  an  excellent  judge  of  affairs,  and  was  endowed 
with  no  slight  powers  of  understanding  to  distinguish  the  true 
from  the  false.  He  was  a  protector  of  the  learned,  and  was  not 
personally  opposed  to  us.  But  the  sins  of  the  French  people, 
and  the  king's  own  sins,  already  threatened  by  the  wrath  of 
God,  would  not  suffer  him  to  hear  us,  or  to  read  our  writings."* 
An  historian,!  on  the  other  hand,  who  gives  an  interesting 
sketch    of    his    life    and    character,   and   contrasts    him    with 

*  Hist  Eccles.  p.  15.  He  seems  mistaken  as  to  the  date  of  Melancthon's  letter. 
That  reformer  was  invited  after  the  persecution.  The  queen  of  Navarre,  and  two 
brothers  of  the  house  of  Belley,  had  won  him  so  far  that  he  deliberated  about  invit- 
ing Melancthon  ;  but  in  1534,  this  was  all  ruined  by  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  some  who 
printed  certain  articles  written  in  a  very  rude  and  violent  style. 

f  Kobertsoa 


A.D.  1535.J  LUSTRATION  SOLEMNIZED    AT   PARIS.  49 

the  emperor  Charles,  shows  clearly  how  the  latter  excelled  him  in 
force  of  mind,  and  even  in  moderation,  and  expresses  his  convic- 
tion that  the  seeming  willingness  of  the  king  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  reformed  doctrine  was  only  a  political  mask. 

In  order  to  recover  his  credit  as  a  good  catholic,  which  had 
been  somewhat  shaken  by  his  league  with  the  heretical  king  of 
England,  by  his  reception  of  an  ambassador  from  Soliman,  and 
by  his  war  with  Charles,  who  defended  the  old  religion,  he  de- 
sired to  exhibit  in  some  conspicuous  manner  his  adherence  to  the 
catholic  church.  The  unseasonable  zeal  of  his  subjects,  who  had 
posted  even  on  the  walls  of  his  palace  at  Blois  certain  mani- 
festos, with  indecent  satires  against  the  mass  and  religion,  af- 
forded him  an  occasion  for  this  movement.  At  the  time  when 
Farel  was  preaching  the  truth  at  Geneva,  such  preachers  as 
Girard  Roux,  Cauraud  and  Berthaud,  of  the  Augustine  order, 
appeared  in  Paris.  As  Satan,  according  to  the  expression  of 
Crespin,  would  not  suffer  this,  he  aroused  many  of  the  sorbonnists. 
enemies  of  the  light,  to  prohibit  them  from  proclaiming  the  Gos- 
pel. They  now  accordingly  changed  their  preaching  into  private 
instruction  ;  but  this  also  was  forbidden  by  the  sorbonnists.  Gi- 
rard was  arrested,  and  Cauraud  was  confined  to  the  house  of  the 
bishop. 

The  oppressed  Christians  had  now  no  better  course  to  pursue 
than  to  send  to  Savoy,  in  order  to  obtain  from  thence  a  short 
abstract  of  doctrine  which  might  be  given  to  the  people,  and  com- 
pensate for  the  want  of  free  oral  instruction.  This  design  was 
executed  by  one  Feret,  servant  to  the  apothecary  of  king  Francis. 
At  Neufchatel  he  caused  copies  of  the  articles  of  faith  to  be  pre- 
pared in  the  form  of  manifestos  against  the  mass  and  the  pope : 
they  were  written  in  a  pointed  style,  and  were  intended  for  dis- 
tribution in  the  streets.*  But  although  this  strong  diatribe 
against  the  mass  contains  nothing  more  than  the  truth,  yet  is  the 
unchristian  tone  of  the  language  very  offensive,  and  both  Cauraud 
and  other  moderate  men  were  greatly  displeased  with  its  character. 
But,  alas  !  fiery  zeal  prevailed.  The  police  was  now  busily  em- 
ployed in  executing  the  king's  wishes.  Especially  was  the  blood- 
thirsty Morin  distinguished  in  this  work :  none  equalled  him  in 
the  fearful  art  of  inventing  new  tortures  :  all  the  city  trembled  be- 
fore him. 

On  the  29th  of  January  1535,  the  king  ordered  a  so-called 

*  Farel  it  is  suspected,  according  to  Crespin,  was  the  author  of  the    manifestos 
which  were  called  '  The  Placards'  at  Paris.— L.  des  M.  p.  111. 
VOL.    I. — 4 


50  BARTHOLOMEW    MILO.  [CHAP.  IV. 

lustration  to  be  solemnized  in  Paris.  In  this  ceremony  the  image 
of  St.  Geneveve,  the  patron  saint  of  Paris,  was  carried  round  the 
city.  It  was  only  in  the  greatest  necessity  that  this  was  done. 
Beza  thus  describes  the  scene :  "The  king  himself  appeared  in 
the  procession ;  and  walked  on  foot,  and  with  his  head  uncov- 
ered, accompanied  by  his  three  children,  through  the  city.  They 
all  carried  white  tapers ;  and  during  the  procession  six  men 
were  burnt  alive,  in  the  most  barbarous  manner,  in  the  chief 
place  of  the  city,  and  at  which  the  people  were  excited  to  such 
madness  that  the  executioners  could  scarcely  keep  them  from 
being  torn  to  pieces.  What  is  more,  the  king  having  dined  in 
the  great  hall  of  the  bishop's  palace,  where  the  whole  court  of 
parliament  was  assembled,  clad  in  scarlet  robes,  and  with  them 
a  great  part  of  the  clergy,  the  chief  nobility,  and  the  ambassa- 
dors of  several  nations,  he  there  protested  before  all,  with  great  in- 
dignation, that  if  he  knew  even  one  of  the  members  of  his  own 
body  to  be  infected  with  the  heretical  doctrine,  he  would  cast  it 
from  him.  But  if  his  rage  was  great,  the  constancy  of  the  suffer- 
ers was  much  greater." 

A  brief  account  of  the  martyrs  of  that  period  will  not  be  mis- 
placed here. 

Bartholomew  Milo,  a  shoemaker  of  Paris,  was  a  cripple  in  all 
his  members  except  his  tongue  and  his  arms.  He  possessed 
many  natural  gifts,  which  he  had  misused  in  his  youth,  when 
his  mind,  peculiarly  sarcastic,  had  been  directed  against  religion. 
The  severe  sickness  which  had  made  him  a  cripple  was  the 
means  whereby  the  Lord  restored  him  to  spiritual  strength.  A 
pious  man,  who  had  been  converted  to  the  Gospel,  being  mocked 
by  him  as  he  passed  his  shop,  gave  him  a  New  Testament  to 
read.  He  was  immediately  so  affected  by  its  contents,  that  he 
ceased  neither  day  nor  night  to  read  it  to  his  family.  His  friends, 
who  often  came  to  his  house  to  hear  him  play  on  musical  instru- 
ments, which  he  practised  with  great  skill,  could  not  sufficiently 
wonder  at  this  conversion.  During  his  confinement,  for  six 
years,  to  a  bed  of  sickness,  he  became  mature  in  faith.  Such 
was  his  bodily  helplessness  at  this  time,  that  it  required  four 
persons  to  remove  him  from  one  place  to  another.  But  he  still 
retained  his  habits  of  industry  ;  and  occupied  himself  sometimes 
in  teaching  children  to  write,  at  others  as  a  goldsmith,  or  in  en- 
graving steel  instruments,  as  knives  and  swords,  in  which  work 
he  was  very  skilful.  What  he  earned  was  given  to  the  poor 
who  knew  the  truth.     His  chamber  was  a  school  in  which  the 


A.D.  1535.]  VALETON. — DU    BOURG.  51 

Gospel  was  made  known,  and  out  of  which  the  honor  and  majes- 
ty of  the  Lord  shone  brightly  forth.  He  had  already  been  taken 
into  custody.  The  rage  of  Morin  now  knew  no  bounds  :  it  fell 
upon  Milo  first,  and  as  he  approached  the  cripple  he  cried,  in  his 
blind  fury,  "  Get  up,  Milo  !"  "  Ah,  sir,"  replied  the  latter  calmly, 
"  it  would  require  the  power  of  a  greater  Master  than  you  are  to 
make  me  stand  upright."  He  was  immediately  dragged  away, 
and  condemned  to  be  burnt  by  a  slow  fire  on  the  Place  de  Greve. 
His  courage  and  patience  afforded  his  fellow-prisoners  unspeak- 
able comfort  and  increased  resolution.  Being  led  past  his  father's 
house,  he  bore  himself  in  a  manner  which  inspired  even  the  ene- 
mies of  the  truth  with  admiration.  Thus  did  this  servant  and 
witness  of  Jesus  Christ  exhibit  the  same  patience  in  death  with 
which  he  had  honored  God  in  his  life. 

Nicolas  Valeton,  a  receiver,  no  sooner  saw  Morin  at  a  distance 
approaching  his  dwelling,  than,  guessing  his  design,  he  directed 
his  wife  to  remove  his  books  from  their  cases.  Filled  with  ter- 
ror, she  immediately  put  them  into  a  secret  place.  Morin  ar- 
rived and  led  him  off  to  prison,  but  could  learn  nothing  from 
him  respecting  the  empty  bookcases.  He  therefore  went  to 
the  wife,  bewildered  her  with  tortuous  questions,  assured  her 
that  her  husband  had  already  confessed  the  existence  of  the 
books,  affirmed  with  an  oath  that  the  affair  would  not  be  at- 
tended with  any  evil  consequences  to  him,  and  receiving  a  small 
sum  of  money  from  the  poor,  inexperienced  woman,  endeavored 
to  make  her  feel  perfectly  secure.  Thus  deceived,  the  unfortu- 
nate wife  readily  told  whatever  she  knew.  The  books  were 
brought  out ;  and  although  they  did  not  belong  to  any  forbidden 
class,  Morin  so  represented  the  matter  to  the  king  that  the  man 
was  condemned  to  death,  simply  because  he  had  put  the  books 
out  of  sight,  and  had  thereby  discovered,  it  was  said,  his  heretical 
disposition.  Valeton  was  led  to  the  Croix  du  Tirouer  and  there 
burnt  alive  with  wood  brought  from  his  own  house.  He  died 
with  a  degree  of  firmness,  which  was  viewed  with  so  much  the 
more  wonder,  because  he  had  only  been  a  short  time  instructed 
in  the  Gospel. 

John  du  Bourg,  a  merchant  of  Paris,  also  manifested  what  a 
deep,  living  knowledge  he  had  obtained  of  divine  truth.  No  regard 
for  relations,  no  thought  of  riches,  no  earthly  bond,  could  move 
him  to  deny  the  faith.  His  house  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Rue  St.  Denis,  where  he  had  a  cloth  warehouse.  He  was  burnt 
at  Paris  in  the  Place  les  Halles. 


52  CALVIN    AND    FRANCIS    I.  [CHAP.  IV. 

Henri  Poille,  a  poor  bricklayer,  gave  a  similar  proof  in  his  mar- 
tyrdom of  the  power  of  a  lively  faith.  He  was  indebted  for  his 
first  acquaintance  with  the  holy  Scriptures  to  BriQonnet,  bishop 
of  Meaux.  His  persecutors  feared  that  even  at  the  stake  his  edi- 
fying discourse  might  work  upon  the  feelings  of  the  spectators ; 
they  therefore  bored  his  tongue  through,  and  fastened  it  with  an 
iron  pin  to  his  cheek.  It  was  very  common  at  this  time  to  place 
a  heavy  piece  of  wood  on  the  mouths  of  confessors,  to  prevent 
them  from  convincing  the  bystanders,  by  their  spiritual  addresses, 
of  the  purity  of  their  Christian  belief. 

Stephen  de  la  Forge,  of  Tournay,  a  rich  and  benevolent  mer- 
chant, had  printed  at  his  own  expense  great  numbers  of  the  Bible 
for  general  circulation.  He  also  sealed  his  profession  by  dying  in 
the  flames  in  the  churchyard  of  St.  John. 

Such  were  Calvin's  hearers  when  he  preached  the  Gospel  in 
Paris :  such  was  the  church  which,  consisting  of  witnesses  of  the 
truth,  his  preaching  had  awakened. 

But  all  this  was  only  a  slight  prelude  to  a  long  series  of  horri- 
ble distresses.  Throughout  the  reigns  of  Francis  I.  and  his  imme- 
diate  successors,  up  to  that  of  Henry  IV.,  the  most  barbarous  mur- 
ders were  perpetrated  without  ceasing; — a  feast,  it  was  said, 
given  to  the  honor  of  God  to  turn  away  his  wrath.*  In  our 
quiet  times  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  one  rational  being 
could  thus  rage  against  another,  without  attributing  the  whole 
to  the  active  spirit  of  Satan.  Was  the  letter  then  which  the 
king  wrote  to  Melancthon  in  June  1535  a  mere  piece  of  hypoc- 
risy ?  or,  as  is  often  the  case  with  such  minds,  did  devotion  to  the 
world,  political  interests,  contempt  for  honesty,  blend  themselves 
in  this  instance  with  a  strange  desire  to  examine  the  truth  ?  But 
this  wretched  creature,  leagued  as  he  was  with  papal  treachery, 
which  he  exercised  against  Charles,  who,  confiding  in  the  honor 
of  his  knighthood,  trusted  him,  and  for  that  trust  deserves  our 
regard  far  more  than  the  betrayer,  shows  too  plainly  that  he 
knew  not  what  real  honor  is.  So  precious  a  virtue  cannot  exist 
without  truth  and  fidelity  ;  and  Francis  had  neither  right  nor 
reason  to  justify  his  exclaiming  at  Pavia,  "All  is  lost   but  hon- 

*  Hist,  des  Martyrs,  p.  105.  To  appease,  they  said,  the  anger  of  God  ;  but  it  was 
rather  to  consecrate  to  him  these  good  souls  as  a  sweet-smelling  sacrifice. 
(Beza,  Hist.  Eccles.  t.  i.  p.  23.)  The  persecutions  were  continued  during  the 
whole  reign  of  Francis,  and  by  all  the  parliaments,  whatever  they  pretended 
to  the  Germans.  It  would  be  difficult  to  recite  the  cruelties  perpetrated,  for 
the  processes  were  burnt  with  the  sufferers,  and  the  tongues  of  many  were 
cut  out  to  prevent  their  making  any  statement,  or  giving  an  account  of  their 
affairs. 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  'institutes.'  53 

or  !"  More  correctly  might  he  have  said  with  Henry  VIII.,  "  All 
is  lost :  even  conscience." 

Let  us  turn  now  to  Calvin,  who  opposed  himself  to  this  man, 
and  seemed  called  by  God  to  open  his  eyes  to  the  truth.  It  was 
a  decisive  moment  in  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Had 
the  king,  to  whom  all  were  looking,  been  converted,  the  nation 
would  have  been  converted,  and  the  conversion  of  France  would 
have  given  a  new  character  to  this  portion  of  history,  and  brought 
numberless  souls  to  an  earlier  acquaintance  with  divine  truth. 
But  what  a  contrast  between  the  two  men  !  The  one  a  zealous 
servant  of  the  Lord ;  the  other  a  politic  child  of  the  world. 
Calvin  a  deep-thinking  theologian,  who  had  cast  aside  the  errors 
of  the  old  church  ;  Francis  a  passionate  Catholic  :  Calvin  resign- 
ing himself  altogether  to  faith  and  holiness,  and  cultivating  the 
strictest  purity  of  manners ;  Francis  covetous  of  honor,  but 
thoughtless  ;  an  egoistical  and  luxurious  monarch  :  Calvin  a  sound 
scholar,  working  only  for  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  Francis  ambitious 
of  fame,  and  seeking  it  by  splendid  deeds  of  arms.  The  two  ex- 
hibit the  extremes  of  the  French  character. 

In  the  celebrated  dedication  with  which  Calvin  sent  his  '  Insti- 
tutes' to  the  king,  he  comes  forth  with  firmness  and  dignity.  He 
summoned  the  whole  strength  of  his  mind  to  this  work  ;  and  here, 
in  this  decisive  moment,  the  peculiar  character  of  Calvin,  so  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  Luther  in  similar  circumstances,  is  remarkably 
exhibited.  The  latter,  though  so  much  warned  against  it,  travels 
to  Worms,  and  presents  himself  before  the  emperor  with  these 
words  :  "  I  can  do  no  otherwise,  so  God  help  me,  Amen!"  Calvin, 
on  the  contrary,  fled  from  his  country  and  his  king,  and  then  ap- 
peared with  the  work,  which,  for  its  excellence  and  spiritual  worth, 
will  be  regarded  by  the  Christian  church,  to  the  end  of  time,  as  one 
of  its  choicest  treasures. 

The  somewhat  lengthy  preface  to  this  work  may  be  viewed  in 
the  light  of  a  formal  apology  for  the  evangelical  party  : — 

"  Most  mighty  and  renowned  monarch  !  When  I  began  the 
composition  of  this  treatise,  I  entertained  no  thought  of  laying 
it  before  your  majesty.  My  object  was  to  exhibit  the  simplest 
elements  of  Christianity,  and  thus  to  lead  those  who  had  al- 
ready some  love  for  the  Gospel  to  the  knowledge  of  its  principles. 
I  labored  especially  for  my  fellow-countrymen  the  French,  know- 
ing that  many  among  them  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness, while  few  only  have  attained  to  even  a  moderate  degree 
of  knowledge.  Hence  the  unpretending  character  of  the  book. 
When,  however,  I  saw  that  certain  cruel  persecutors  possessed  such 


54  CALVIN'S    '  INSTITUTES.'  [CHAP.  IV. 

power  m  your  kingdom,  that  no  place  of  refuge  for  true  doctrine 
existed  any  longer,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  should  be  accomplish- 
ing a  useful  design  could  I  at  the  same  time,  and  by  the  same 
means,  both  instruct  them  and  make  you  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture of  our  belief;  that  you  might  thence  learn  the  real  character 
of  that  doctrine  against  which  those  madmen  rage  with  such 
fury,  and  carry  fire  and  sword  through  your  kingdom.  I  there- 
fore hesitate  not  to  state,  that  this  work  contains  the  sum  of  that 
doctrine  which  they  so  blasphemously  proclaim  ought  to  be  visited 
with  imprisonment,  banishment,  outlawry,  yea,  with  fire,  and  that 
it  ought  to  be  exterminated  from  the  earth.  I  know  well  with 
what  clamors  they  besiege  you,  in  order  to  render  our  proceedings 
hateful  in  your  eyes ;  but  you  will  graciously  bear  in  mind  that 
innocence  either  in  word  or  deed,  would  cease  to  be  known  if 
men  gave  heed  to  accusers  only.  Should  it  be  said,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exciting  your  hatred,  that  the  opinions  which  I  defend 
have  been  already  universally  condemned,  and  that  sentence  has 
been  passed  upon  them  at  the  tribunal  of  justice;  this  will  only 
show  that  they  have  been  put  down  by  the  violence  and  power 
of  the  opposite  party,  and  have  been  pursued  by  all  the  arts  of 
falsehood  and  treachery.  That  force  has  been  used,  what  stronger 
proof  is  needed  than  this,  that  sanguinary  sentences  have  been 
passed  against  us  without  our  being  heard  ?  That  fraud  has 
been  employed,  what  other  proof  is  needed  than  the  fact,  that 
without  even  the  show  of  justice,  we  have  been  accused  of  violence 
and  rebellion? 

"  That  we  complain  not  without  cause  you  can  yourself  testify, 
most  noble  king  !  You  know  how  falsely  and  slanderously  our 
doctrine  has  been  daily  represented  to  you.  According  to  the 
report  of  our  enemies,  we  aim  at  nothing  but  to  deprive  kings  of 
their  sceptres,  to  overthrow  the  seat  of  judgment,  to  confound 
all  ranks  and  distinctions  of  society,  to  destroy  the  peace  and 
quiet  of  the  people,  to  abolish  all  laws,  to  annihilate  the  rights 
of  property,  to  effect,  in  short,  the  ruin  of  all.  And  this  is  the 
least  of  the  injuries  which  they  inflict.  Frightful  are  the  accu- 
sations against  us  which  they  spread  among  the  people  ;  they 
charge  us  with  crimes,  which,  were  they  rightly  attributed  to  us, 
would  deserve  at  the  hands  of  mankind  at  large  a  thousand 
deaths  by  the  cross  or  the  flames.  Who  can  wonder  that  the 
people  hate  us  with  a  deadly  hatred,  when  such  horrible  accu- 
sations obtain  belief?  Hence  all  classes  are  united  in  condemn- 
ing our  doctrine.  Inflamed  by  these  feelings,  judges  pronounce 
a  sentence,  already  determined  upon,  but  certainly  not  accord- 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  c  institutes.'  55 

ing  to  righteousness,  and  believe  that  they  have  done  their  duty, 
if  none  of  our  brethren,  dragged  before  the  tribunal,  fail  to  be 
convicted  either  by  their  own  forced  confession,  or  by  the  false 
testimony  of  others.  But  what  is  their  crime  ?  It  is  this  :  they 
have  listened  to  the  condemned  doctrine.  But  with  what  right 
has  it  been  condemned  ?  This  is  the  main  point  of  our  defence. 
We  dare  not  repudiate  this  doctrine  ;  we  must  proclaim  its 
truth  ;  but  we  are  not  permitted  even  to  open  our  mouth  on  the 
question. 

"  Hence,  illustrious  monarch  !  I  ask  only  that  which  is  just, 
when  I  beseech  you  to  examine  our  cause  yourself, — a  cause 
hitherto  treated  without  order,  without  justice,  without  mode- 
ration, or  rather,  only  with  unmeasured  hatred.  Do  not  suppose 
that  I  am  pleading  for  myself,  or  that  I  am  only  seeking  per- 
mission to  return  to  my  country.  I  am  strongly  impressed  in- 
deed with  the  natural  love  of  my  native  land,  but  in  the  present 
affliction  I  would  rather  shun  it.  It  is  not  my  own  interests, 
but  the  things  of  Christ,  the  claim  of  all  righteous  men,  which 
I  now  defend.  It  is  these  which,  at  the  present  time,  and  in 
your  kingdom,  are  trampled  under  foot,  and  are  almost  utterly 
ruined  without  your  will  or  knowledge,  through  the  tyranny  of 
pharisaic  hypocrites.  Why  it  is  so  I  need  not  repeat,  but  the 
calamities  still  exist.  To  such  lengths  has  the  persecution  gone, 
that  the  truth  of  Christ,  if  not  altogether  dissipated  and  de- 
stroyed, is,  as  it  were,  put  to  shame  and  buried.  The  wretched 
church  is  sinking  under  the  frightful  punishments  inflicted  upon 
it;  it  is  crippled  by  exile,  bowed  to  the  earth  by  threats  ;  none 
dare  open  their  month  in  its  defence  ;  and  still  are  our  enemies 
striving  with  undiminished  fury  to  pull  down  this  half-destroyed 
edifice.  No  champion  arises  to  resist  these  furies.  When 
any  one  appears  more  than  usually  affected  by  the  truth,  they 
pretend  that  the  errors  and  imprudence  of  simple  men  must  be 
overlooked.  Thus  speak  these  modest  catholics,  calling  that 
error  and  imprudence  which  they  know  to  be  the  most  certain 
truth  of  God  ;  and  those  foolish  to  whose  minds  Christ  has  not 
disdained  to  reveal  the  mysteries  of  celestial  wisdom  ;  thus,  all 
are  put  to  shame  for  the  Gospel.  Let  it  be  your  praise  then, 
illustrious  king  !  not  to  shut  your  ears  or  your  heart  to  so  right- 
eous a  cause,  the  more  especially  since  it  involves  the  defence  of 
God's  glory  upon  earth,  the  exaltation  of  divine  truth,  and  the 
firm  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Such  a  cause  is 
worthy  of  your  hearing,  worthy  of  your  consideration,  worthy  of 


56  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  iv. 

your  tribunal.  It  is  the  conviction  that  he  is  the  vicegerent  of 
God  which  makes  a  true  king.  He  is  not  a  king,  but  a  tyrant 
and  a  robber,  who  does  not  seek  to  promote  the  glory  of  his 
God.  Miserably  is  he  deceived  who  hopes  to  establish  the  pros- 
perity of  an  empire  which  is  not  governed  by  the  sceptre,  that  is, 
by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Never  will  that  prophecy  be  found  to 
fail  in  which  it  is  said,  '  Where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people 
perish.'* 

"  Nor  ought  any  contempt  for  our  low  estate  to  divert  you 
from  this  investigation.  We  know  well  how  poor,  how  wretched 
we  are.  In  the  sight  of  God  we  are  miserable  sinners  ;  in  that 
of  men  we  are  utterly  despised.  We  are  as  the  dregs  and  off- 
scourings of  the  earth,  or  whatsoever  else  can  be  named  as  vile  ; 
so  that  if  we  would  glory  before  God,  we  have  nothing  left  but 
his  mercy,  through  which,  by  no  merit  of  our  own,  we  have 
been  called  to  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  Among  men,  we  are 
known  only  by  our  infirmities,  to  confess  which  is  in  their  eyes 
the  greatest  shame.  But  far  above  all  the  glory  of  the  world, 
and  unconquered  by  its  might,  stands  the  doctrine  which  we 
profess.  For  it  is  not  ours.  It  is  the  truth  of  the  living  God 
and  of  his  Christ ; — his,  whom  the  Father  appointed  King,  that 
he  might  rule  from  the  one  sea  to  the  other,  and  from  the  river 
to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  earth  :  or,  as  the  prophets  speak 
concerning  the  magnificence  of  his  kingdom,  that  he  might 
subdue  the  nations,  breaking  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  dashing 
them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel ;  smiting  the  earth  with  the 
rod  of  his  lips,  and  casting  down  the  great  image  of  iron  and 
clay,  of  brass,  silver  and  gold."t 

"  But  our  adversaries  here  stand  forth,  and  declare  that  we 
falsify  that  Word  of  God  to  which  we  wickedly  appeal.  That  this 
however  is  a  devilish  slander,  and  an  inconceivably  disgraceful 
falsehood,  you  will  yourself  discover  on  a  careful  perusal  of  this 
summary  of  our  doctrine.  I  will  therefore  only  note  such  things 
as  may  serve  to  direct  your  attention  to  the  argument,  and  facili- 
tate your  inquiry." 

This  portion  of  the  preface  is  followed  by  a  parallel  between 
the  spirit  of  the  evangelical  and  that  of  the  papal  church,  in 
which  sensuality!  is  spoken  of  as  the  governing  principle  of  the 
Romish  clergy  of  that  period.  Calvin  would  have  been  more 
correct,  perhaps,  had  he  ascribed  more  weight  to  their  ambition 

*  Proverbs  xxix.  IS.  t  Dan.  ii.  34 ;  Is.  xi.  4 ;  Ps.  Li.  9. 

\  Quia  illis  Deus  venter,  culina  religio. 


A.D.  1535.]  calvin's   {  INSTITUTES.'  57 

and  love  of  power.  A  degree  of  bitterness  also  is  discoverable, 
which,  however  justified  by  the  truth,  was  not  calculated  to 
change  the  temper  of  the  king.*  There  was  wanting  that 
Christian  spirit  of  benevolence  and  gentleness  which  can  alone 
subdue  resistance  and  lead  to  love,  and  awaken  Christian  sym- 
pathy. 

Calvin  proceeds  to  cite  the  six  principal  objections  of  his 
opponents.  They  were — 1.  That  the  doctrine  was  new  and 
unsafe  :  of  this  we  need  say  nothing.  2.  That  it  was  established 
by  no  miraculous  proof,  whereas  the  papacy  was  founded  from 
the  first  in  miracles.  He  here  shows,  that  miracles  are  allowed 
for  the  confirmation  of  the  truth,  and  not  as  its  foundation ; 
that  the  truth  of  a  doctrine  must  be  perceived  in  the  soul,  as 
Christ  indicates  (John  vii.  18,  viii.  50),  showing  that  a  true 
doctrine  is  that  which  seeks  the  honor  of  God,  and  not  that  of 
men.  Miracles,  therefore,  establish  the  truth  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  not  error.  The  Romish  miracles  are  false,  satanic,  being  in- 
vented to  turn  the  christian  from  the  service  of  the  true  God,  and 
to  give  him  over  to  a  blasphemous,  or  at  least  a  vain  and  ridicu- 
lous superstition. 

The  point  to  which  the  third  error  spoken  of  refers,  namely 
that  the  fathers  of  the  church  favored  and  defended  the  papacy, 
is  of  such  importance,  even  in  the  present  day,  that  we  think  it 
right  to  give  literally  what  Calvin  says  on  the  subject: — 

"  They  bring  the  fathers  of  the  church  against  us,  as  if  they 
were  the  champions  of  their  godless  error.  But  if  the  contro- 
versy is  to  be  determined  by  their  authority,  the  victory,  and  I 
speak  with  caution,  will  doubtless  be  on  our  side.  Moreover, 
although  much  which  is  noble  and  edifying  may  be  found  in 
the  fathers,  it  has  happened  to  them  as  to  men  in  general,  that 
they  have  occasionally  fallen  into  error.  But  these  their  pious 
sons,  endowed  as  they  are  with  so  much  skill  and  judgment, 
adore  nothing  more  than  their  imperfections  and  errors  ;  and 
that  which  they  have  said  best  they  despise,  belie,  or  pervert, 
so  that  they  seem  to  be  anxious  only  to  gather  what  is  base 
from  among  the  gold.  Hence  they  load  us  with  abuse,  as  if 
we  were  the  enemies  or  despisers  of  the  church-fathers.  So 
little  however  is  this  the  case,  that  were  it  proper,  we  could 
now  prove  by  the  testimony  of  the  fathers  themselves  what  we 

*  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Calvin  does  not  especially  mention  the  idolatrous 
worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  This  point  was  not  so  severely  handled  by  the  reform- 
ers as  it  seeni3  necessary  to  treat  it  in  the  present  day. 


58  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  iv. 

mainly  desire  to  establish.  But  we  so  read  their  writings  as  al- 
ways to  keep  in  view  the  saying  of  Paul  (1  Cor.  ii.  21-23),  that 
all  things  are  ours,  to  serve  us,  that  is,  and  not  to  rule  over  us  ; 
while  we  ourselves  belong  to  the  Lord,  whom,  without  exception, 
we  must  all  obey.  He  who  forgets  this  distinction  will  not 
stand  fast  in  the  faith.  And  further,  these  holy  men  are  doubt- 
ful on  many  points,  and  frequently  at  variance  with  each 
other.  Not  without  cause,  say  our  opponents,  are  we  instructed 
by  Solomon,  not  to  remove  the  ancient  landmarks  which  our 
fathers  have  set  (Prov.  xxii.  28).  But  to  mark  out  the  boundary 
of  fields,  and  to  trace  the  limits  of  the  domains  of  faith, 
are  different  things  ;  for  when  a  man  is  concerned  with  faith, 
he  must  leave  his  people  and  his  father's  house.  If  however 
they  are  so  passionately  fond  of  allegorizing,  why  do  they  not 
rather  follow  the  apostles  ?  To  overstep  the  bounds  which  they 
have  traced,  is  manifestly  a  greater  crime  than  to  neglect  any 
of  the  other  church-fathers.  It  is  thus  that  Jerome,  whose 
words  they  have  received  into  their  canons,  speaks  ;  and  if 
they  will  not  allow  us  to  trespass  beyond  the  limits  set  by 
the  fathers,  how  is  it  that  they  themselves  venture  to  do  so 
whenever  it  can  benefit  their  cause?  It  is  one  of  the  fathers  of 
the  church  who  says,*  'that  God  neither  eats  nor  drinks,  and 
that  he  has  no  need  of  cups  and  platters.'  Another  says,t 
'  that  the  sacraments  and  holy  rites  of  Christians  require  not 
gold  ;  for  that  that  which  is  not  bought  with  gold  cannot  be  ren- 
dered acceptable  by  gold.'  Thus  when  they  adorn  themselves  in 
the  services  of  religion  with  gold,  silver,  ivory,  precious  stones 
and  silken  garments,  and  believe  that  they  cannot  seek  God  ac- 
ceptably unless  they  be  thus  decorated  with  unheard-of  pomp 
and  senseless  luxury,  they  pass  the  defined  boundaries.  It  was 
a  father  of  the  church  i  who  said,  '  that  he  freely  ate  flesh 
on  days  when  others  abstained,  because  he  was  a  Christian.' 
Thus  again  they  pass  the  line  when  they  pursue  with  anath- 
emas those  who  taste  flesh  during  the  forty  days  of  Lent.  It 
was  a  church-father  who  said,  '  that  a  monks  who  will  not 
work  with  his  hands  may  be  compared  to  a  robber  or  a  thief.' 
And  Augustine  says,  in  his  book  on  Monks,  c.  17,  '  that  it  is 
not  lawful  for  monks  to  live  at  the  expense  of  others,  even 
though  they  should  give  themselves  up  entirely  to  contem- 
plation, prayer  and  study.'  But  this  line  assuredly  have  they 
passed,  when  they  have  pampered  the  foul  and  swollen  bellies 
*  Acatius.  f  Ambrosiu9.  X  Spiridion.  §  Trip.  Hist. 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  'institutes.'  59 

of  their  monks  in  harlots'  houses,  and  fattened  them  at  the 
expense  of  others.  It  is  a  church-father*  who  says,  '  that  it  is 
a  horrible  thing  to  set  up  an  image  of  Christ,  or  of  a  saint,  in  a 
Christian  temple.'  And  this  is  not  the  saying  of  an  individual 
merely  ;  it  is  the  statement  of  a  council,!  '  that  the  object  of 
our  worship  should  not  be  what  may  be  fixed  to  the  wall.'  Far 
indeed  have  they  departed  from  this  rule,  for  they  have  not  left 
a  corner  in  their  churches  free  from  images.  Another  father! 
expresses  his  wish,  '  that  when  we  have  performed  the  last 
offices  for  the  dead,  we  should  leave  them  to  rest  quietly  in 
their  graves.'  But  this  boundary  they  also  overstep,  for  they 
would  engage  us  perpetually  about  the  souls  of  the  dead.  It 
was  one  of  the  fathers§  who  testified,  '  that  the  substance  of  the 
bread  and  wine  remain  unchanged  in  the  Lord's  supper,  as  the 
substance  and  nature  of  man  in  Christ  are  united  with  the 
divine.'  They  therefore  set  at  naught  all  limitations,  when 
they  assert,  that  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  ceases 
to  exist  as  soon  as  the  words  of  the  Lord  are  repeated,  and 
that  the  bread  and  wine  are  then  changed  into  his  body  and 
blood.  There  were  also  church-fathers II  who  said,  'that  as 
there  is  but  one  Eucharist  in  the  universal  church,  from  any 
approach  to  which  the  base  and  wicked  are  prohibited,  so  ought 
all  those  to  be  severely  reproved  who,  being  present,  refuse  to 
partake  of  the  ordinance.'  But  have  they  not  overstepped  these 
boundaries  by  filling  not  only  their  churches,  but  their  houses 
with  masses,  to  be  seen  by  all,  but  more  especially  by  those 
who  can  afford  to  pay  the  most,  however  impure  and  unholy 
they  may  be?  They  invite  no  one  to  faith  in  Christ  and  to  true 
communion  with  the  Lord,  but  offer  their  own  work  for  sale 
instead  of  the  grace  and  merits  of  Christ.  There  were  church- 
fathers,  11  of  whom  one  commanded,  '  that  the  man  should  be 
altogether  denied  communion  who  was  contented  to  receive 
it  in  part,  that  is,  by  the  bread  or  the  wine  separately ;'  and  the 
other  of  whom  contended,  with  great  force  and  severity,  '  that 
the  blood  of  the  Lord  ought  to  be  refused  to  no  one  who  was 
ready  to  shed  his  own  blood  as  a  confessor  of  the  Gospel.'  These 
lines  have  they  passed,  in  establishing  a  law  which  justifies  the 
very  thing  which  the  one  father  would  visit  with  excommunica- 
tion, and  which  the  other  condemns  by  the  clearest  deductions 

*  Epiphanius.  t  Concil.  Eliber.  c.  36. 

%  Ambrosius.  §  Gelasius  Papa. 

|   Chrysostom.     Calixtus  Papa.  IF  Gelasius.     Cyprian. 


60  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  iv. 

of  reason.  It  is  a  church-father*  who  has  said,  'that  it  is  a  pre- 
sumption deserving  punishment,  for  any  one  in  a  doubtful  matter 
to  speak  confidently,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other,  without  being 
able  to  refer  to  the  clear  and  undoubted  testimony  of  Scripture.' 
But  this  limit  have  they  manifestly  passed,  by  creating  so  many 
constitutions  and  church  laws,  so  many  magisterial  directions, 
without  the  support  of  one  word  of  Scripture.  It  is  a  church- 
father!  who  accuses  Montanus  of  having  introduced,  among  other 
heresies,  the  observation  of  fasts  imposed  by  the  law.  Here  too 
they  have  passed  the  boundary,  for  they  have  established  fasts 
by  rules  of  the  strictest  kind.  A  father  of  the  church!  has  de- 
cided that  the  ministers  of  religion  ought  not  to  be  denied  the 
right  of  entering  into  the  marriage  state  ;  and  he  describes  that 
state  as  a  pure  and  holy  state ;  nor  are  there  wanting  other 
fathers  to  confirm  his  testimony.  But  this  limit  have  they 
destroyed  by  absolutely  denying  to  the  clergy  the  right  of  marry- 
ing. It  was  a  father§  who  said,  that  there  is  one  Christ  for  us, 
of  whom  it  is  written,  '  Him  shall  ye  hear ;'  and  that  we  must  not 
consider  what  others  have  said  or  done,  but  only  what  Christ,  the 
head  of  all,  has  commanded.  This  is  a  line,  however,  which 
they  would  draw  neither  for  themselves  nor  others,  for  they 
desire  any  teacher  rather  than  Christ,  both  for  themselves  and  for 
the  world.  It  is  a  church-fatherll  who  asserts,  '  that  the  church 
must  never  set  itself  above  Christ,  for  his  judgment  is  always 
right ;  whereas  the  judges  of  the  church,  being  men  only,  contin- 
ually err.'  This  limit  again  have  they  utterly  despised,  by  pre- 
sumptuously affirming,  that  the  authority  of  holy  Scripture  itself 
depends  on  the  judgment  of  the  church. 

"All  the  fathers  have  with  one  voice  and  one  heart  proclaimed 
their  abhorrence  of  those  who  allow  themselves  to  corrupt  and 
darken  the  pure  Word  of  God  with  sophistical  and  dialectic 
subtleties  ;  but  do  they  not  pass  this  limit,  when  they  employ 
the  whole  of  their  lives  in  fomenting  strife,  and  are  continually 
seeking  to  pervert  the  simplicity  of  Scripture,  and  to  veil  its 
meaning  by  their  sophistical  arguments  ?  If  the  fathers  could 
rise  from  their  graves  and  listen  to  these  disputes,  dignified  by 
the  name  of  theological  speculations,  they  would  not  believe 
that  they  had  any  reference  to  God.  But  I  sbould  say  far  too 
much,  were  I  to   continue  to  prove  with  what   rashness    these 


*  Augustine.  +  Apol.  de  quo  Ecclcsiast.  Hist.  J  Puphnutius. 

§  Cyprian.  |   Augustin.  cont.  Crescon. 


a.  d.  1535.]  calvin's  '  institutes.'  61 

people  shake  off  the  yoke  of  the  fathers,  while  they  pretend  to 
be  their  dutiful  and  faithful  sons.  Their  boldness  however  is  so 
infamous  and  deplorable,  that  they  presume  to  punish  us,  because 
we  will  not  venture  to  set  aside  the  ancient  landmarks." 

The  fourth  accusation  against  the  reformed  church,  namely 
that  it  forsook  the  old  customs,  Calvin  answers  out  of  Scripture, 
and  shows,  that  the  old  customs  ought  to  be  followed  when  they 
are  useful  and  tend  to  promote  the  honor  of  God,  but  that  all 
unprofitable  practices  should  be  regarded  as  a  pest. 

The  fifth  accusation  was,  that  the  reformed  had  no  visible  church, 
for  that  the  church  was  always  visible,  and  there  was  no  other 
visible  church  but  that  of  Rome. 

To  this  Calvin  replies :  "  In  the  first  place,  we  contend  that 
the  church  may  exist  independently  of  an  outward  form,  and  that 
the  form  consists,  not  in  that  visible  splendor  which  they  so  much 
admire,  but  altogether  in  other  signs  ;  that  is,  in  the  pure  preach- 
ing of  the  Word  of  God,  and  in  the  right  administration  of  the 
sacraments.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  filled  with  terror  when 
they  cannot  point  to  the  church  with  the  finger.  But  how  often 
was  the  church  so  disfigured  among  the  Jews,  that  it  could  scarcely 
be  recognized  !  Where  was  its  visible  splendor  at  the  time  when 
Elias  complained,  '  I,  even  I  only,  am  left  ?'  And  since  the  coming 
of  Christ,  how  frequently  has  it  not  been  without  any  visible  form  ! 
obscured  and  oppressed  sometimes  by  wars  and  rebellions,  and  at 
others  by  heresies. 

"Will  it  be  said  that  in  such  times  no  church  existed?  But 
Elias  said  further,  that  '  God  had  reserved  to  himself  seven 
thousand,  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal.'  And  we  doubt 
not  that  Christ  has  continued  to  preserve  his  kingdom  upon  earth 
ever  since  his  ascension  into  heaven.  But  if  his  disciples  always 
required  for  their  encouragement  the  contemplation  of  an  out- 
ward form,  they  must  soon  have  lost  all  courage.  Hilarius,  even 
in  his  time,  regarded  it  as  a  great  sin,  that,  bewildered  by  a  fool- 
ish admiration  of  the  episcopal  dignity,  men  could  not  see  the 
poisonous  serpent  which  lay  hidden  under  that  mask.  These  are 
his  words:* — 'I  warn  you  against  this  thing.  Take  care  of 
Antichrist !  A  senseless  love  for  the  mere  walls  of  the  church  de- 
ceives you  :  you  absurdly  honor  the  church  of  God  in  splendid 
architecture.  In  this  and  other  such  things  you  vainly  seek 
the  peace  of  God.  Can  we  fail  to  see  that  here  Antichrist  will 
sooner  or  later  place  his  throne?  Mountains,  woods,  seas,  prisons 
*  Hilar,  contra  Auxentium. 


62  CALVIN'S    '  INSTITUTES.'  [CHAP.  IV, 

and  wildernesses  are  to  me  far  safer  retreats.  In  such  places 
dwelt  the  prophets  :  thither  driven,  they  prophesied.  Why  should 
the  world  admire  the  mitred  bishops  of  the  present  day,  unless  it 
supposed  them  to  be  conspicuous  for  their  holiness  as  teachers  of 
religion,  and  therefore  worthy  of  presiding-  over  great  cities?  Far 
from  us  to  be  so  foolish  a  species  of  veneration,'  &c. 

"I  will  now,  however,  briefly  show  how  dangerous  it  is  to  test 
the  existence  of  the  church  by  its  outward  form.  The  chief 
bishop,  it  is  said,  who  occupies  the  apostolic  chair,  and  the 
bishops  who,  consecrated  and  anointed  by  him,  bear  the  holy 
mitre  and  the  pastoral  staff,  represent  the  church,  and  must  be 
regarded  as  the  church.  Thence  it  follows  that  they  cannot  err. 
But  why  not?  Because  they  are  the  consecrated  shepherds  of 
the  church  and  of  God.  And  were  not  Aaron  and  the  other 
chiefs  of  the  Jewish  nation  consecrated  to  God  ?  But  Aaron 
and  his  sons,  already  devoted  to  the  priesthood,  erred  when  they 
framed  the  golden  calf.  And  why  could  not  the  church,  accord- 
ing to  this  reasoning,  be  represented  by  the  four  hundred  pro- 
phets which  deceived  Ahab?  Yet  the  church  was  then  repre- 
sented by  Micaiah  only,  who,  alone  and  despised,  singly  upheld 
the  truth.  Were  not  those  prophets,  so  far  as  name  and  outward 
relations  are  concerned,  the  church,  who  so  fiercely  oppressed 
Jeremiah,  and  who  declared,  '  The  law  shall  not  perish  from  the 
priest,  nor  counsel  from  the  wise,  nor  the  word  from  the  pro- 
phet?' And  yet  against  this  host  of  prophets  was  Jeremiah 
sent  alone  to  proclaim,  in  the  name  of  God,  that  the  law  should 
perish  from  the  priest,  counsel  from  the  wise,  and  the  word  from 
the  prophet. 

"And  did  not  that  assembly  shine  forth  in  outward  splendor 
and  grandeur  which  was  called  together  by  the  chief  priests,  the 
scribes  and  the  pharisees,  to  take  counsel  against  the  Lord? 
Go  then  and  content  yourselves  with  this  outward  mask,  and 
proclaim  Christ  and  all  the  prophets  of  God  schismatics,  and  the 
servants  of  Satan  instruments  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  they  would 
speak  sincerely,  and  according  to  the  teaching  of  their  own  hearts, 
they  would  fairly  and  truly  tell  me  in  what  land,  and  among  what 
people,  they  believe  the  church  to  exist,  since  a  decree  of  the 
council  of  Basel  deposed  Eugenius  from  the  papal  throne,  and 
elevated  Amadeus  of  Savoy  in  his  stead.  Even  to  save" them- 
selves they  could  not  deny  that  this  council,  so  far  as  concerned 
the  outward  form,  was  fair  and  valid ;  and  yet  it  was  estab- 
lished, not  by  one,  but  by  two  popes.     In  that  council.  Eugenius. 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  :  institutes.'  63 

with  the  whole  body  of  cardinals  who  labored  with  him  to 
dissolve  the  assembly,  were  condemned  as  schismatics,  and  as 
obstinate  opposers  of  the  judicial  summons.  But  subsequently, 
by  the  help  of  the  temporal  princes,  Eugenius  established  him- 
self on  the  papal  throne.  The  choice  of  Amadeus,  on  the  other 
hand,  confirmed  as  it  had  formally  been  by  the  approbation  and 
authority  of  a  holy  and  general  synod,  passed  away  in  smoke, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  the  cardinal's  hat, 
which  was  given  him  as  a  piece  of  bread  is  thrown  to  a  hungry 
dog. 

"  Out  of  the  bosom  of  these  rebellious  and  pertinacious  heretics 
sprung  the  whole  line  of  subsequent  popes,  cardinals,  bishops, 
abbots  and  priests.  Here  they  are  caught.  Upon  which  side 
is  the  church  ?  Will  they  deny  that  the  assembly  referred  to  was 
a  general  council?  No  sign  of  outward  dignity  was  wanting.  It 
was  summoned  by  two  bulls  ;  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  papal 
legate,  who  conducted  the  proceedings  and  occupied  the  chief 
place ;  it  was  rendered  venerable  by  all  external  ceremonies,  and 
retained  to  the  last  its  character  of  authority  and  sacredness. 

"Will  they  now  pretend  that  Eugenius,  with  his  whole  troop, 
was  a  schismatic,  although  they  have  all  received  their  consecra- 
tion from  him  1  If  so,  they  must  either  allow  us  to  form  an  alto- 
gether different  view  of  the  Christian  church,  or  we  will  proclaim 
them  all  schismatics,  seeing  that  of  their  own  consent  and  accord 
they  have  been  ordained  by  heretics. 

"  And  if  the  past  will  not  suffice  to  prove  that  the  church  is 
not  necessarily  a  visible  power,  they  may  themselves  serve  us 
for  an  argument,  seeing  they  have  so  long  proudly  and  openly 
assumed  the  fair  and  lofty  title  of  shepherds  of  the  church,  when 
in  reality  they  are  to  it  like  a  deadly  disease.  I  will  here  say 
nothing  of  their  manners,  or  of  the  many  wicked  and  tragical  acts 
which  have  disfigured  their  whole  course.  They  allow  themselves 
to  be  pharisees  who  must  be  heard,  but  not  imitated.  But  their 
doctrine,  that  very  doctrine  through  which  alone,  according  to 
their  own  statement,  they  constitute  the  church,  will  appear  to 
you,  O  king,  as  altogether  a  soul-murdering  system,  as  a  fire-brand, 
the  ruin  and  destruction  of  the  church,  if  you  will  expend  but  a 
brief  portion  of  your  time  in  the  perusal  of  this  work." 

We  proceed  with  our  extracts  from  this  defence,  it  being  often 
asserted  in  our  own  day  against  the  reformers,  and  that  by  prot- 
estants  as  well  as  Romanists,  that  they  were  inspired  by  a  spirit 
of  insubordination.     Let  Calvin  answer,  and  show  that  we  have 


64  CALVIN'S    '  INSTITUTES.'  [CHAP.  IV. 

nothing  to  fear  from  without,  if  the  appeal  be  made  to  truth  and 
justice. 

"  They  object  to  us  in  the  last  place,  most  grossly  and  unfairly, 
the  numerous  strifes,  tumults  and  disturbances  which  have  fol- 
lowed the  preaching  of  our  doctrine,  and  the  fruit  which  it  bears 
in  many  particular  instances.  Thus  they  unjustly  attribute  to 
the  doctrine  that  which  ought  only  to  be  ascribed  to  the  malice 
of  the  devil.  It  is  the  nature  and  the  destiny  of  the  divine  Word 
never  to  operate  without  exciting  the  watchfulness  and  activity 
of  Satan  ;  but  this  is  the  truest  and  the  safest  sign  by  which  to 
distinguish  it  from  that  which  is  false.  Human  inventions  are 
ever  easily  diffused  ;  they  ever  meet  with  willing  ears,  and  are 
received  by  the  world  with  grateful  approbation.  For  the  rest, 
who  can  doubt  the  wickedness  of  attributing  to  the  Word  of  God 
the  hatred  which  belongs  to  sedition,  faction,  schism  and  heresy  ? 
But  this  is  no  new  thing.  Elias  even  was  asked  whether  he  was 
not  the  disturber  of  Israel.  Christ  himself,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jews, 
was  guilty  of  sedition.  The  Apostles  were  accused  of  creating  a 
tumult.  And  thus  it  is  that  they  act  who  charge  us  with  all  the 
disturbances  which  are  excited  against  us. 

"  But  Elias  has  taught  us  how  to  answer  these  accusations. 
It  is  not  we  who  create  the  errors  and  vexations  complained  of, 
but  they  who  resist  the  power  of  God.  This  consideration,  that 
the  Apostles  themselves  suffered  the  same  things  as  we  endure, 
ought  to  humble  the  pride  of  the  persecutors,  and  to  help  the 
weakness  of  those  who  are  exposed  to  such  afflictions.  There 
were,  at  the  first,  ignorant  and  foolish  people,  who.  to  their 
shame,  despised  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  though  dictated  by  the 
spirit  of  truth.  There  were  mockers  of  God  in  those  days,  who, 
when  they  heard  that  sin  abounding,  grace  is  still  more  abun- 
dant, exclaimed,  'Well  then,  let  us  continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may 
the  more  abound ;'  who,  when  they  heard  that  Christians  had 
no  longer  the  law  for  a  schoolmaster,  foolishly  said,  'Then  we 
will  sin  ;  for  we  are  no  more  under  the  law,  but  under  grace.' 
Thus  there  were  those  who  regarded  Paul  as  favoring  sin. 
False  apostles  found  their  way  in,  and  sought  to  disturb  the 
churches  which  he  had  planted.  Many  preached  the  Gospel 
with  a  wicked,  strife-loving  mind  ;  not  in  purity  of  spirit,  but 
with  a  desire  to  add  affliction  to  his  bonds.  In  other  places  the 
Gospel  made  little  progress;  everyone  sought  his  own,  and  not 
that  which  was  the  Lord's.  Some  went  creeping  on,  as  dogs 
looking  for  what  they  may  discover,  or  as  swine  ready  again  to 


A.D.  1535.]         calvin's   EPISTLE  TO  FRANCIS   I.  65 

wallow  in  the  mire.  The  greater  number  made  spiritual  free- 
dom an  excuse  for  passing  their  lives  in  wild,  unbounded  licen- 
tiousness. Many  false  brethren  crept  in  unawares.  Even 
among  the  believers  themselves  there  was  much  strife  and  envy. 
What  could  the  apostles  do?  How  were  they  to  conduct  them- 
selves? Were  they  to  determine  to  conceal  the  truth  for  a  time  ; 
to  forsake  the  Gospel,  which  had  thus  become  a  nursery  for  so 
many  contentions,  a  cause  of  such  numberless  abuses,  the  source 
of  such  various  disorders  ?  On  the  contrary,  in  those  seasons 
of  anxiety  they  were  strengthened  by  the  recollection  that  Christ 
was  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  of  offence,  set  for  the  falling  and 
rising  again  of  many  ;  for  a  sign  which  should  be  spoken  against. 
Supported  by  this  assurance,  they  pressed  forwards  with  Chris- 
tian boldness,  patiently  enduring  every  kind  of  distress,  danger, 
and  affliction. 

"  And  this  same  conviction  shall  also  support  us,  knowing,  as 
St.  Paul  testifies,  that  the  Gospel  will  ever  be  a  savor  of  death  to 
those  who  perish,  but  a  savor  of  life  eternal,  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,  for  the  righteous.  And  this  should  we  experience 
in  ourselves,  if  we  did  not,  through  our  unthankfulness,  annul  the 
wonderful  mercy  of  God,  and  convert  that  to  our  destruction  which 
was  intended  for  our  salvation. 

"But  again  I  turn  to  you,  O  king!  Again  I  adjure  you  not 
to  let  those  groundless  slanders,  by  which  our  enemies  would 
terrify  you,  disturb  your  mind.  Heed  them  not  when  they  say 
that  we  are  only  seeking  by  this  new  Gospel,  as  they  call  it,  an 
occasion  to  excite  sedition,  and  impunity  for  every  kind  of  vice. 
Our  God  is  not  the  author  of  strife,  but  of  peace ;  and  the  Son 
of  God  is  not  the  advocate  of  sin.  He  came  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil ;  and  we  are  accused  of  offences,  of  our  being 
guilty  of  which  we  have  never  given  cause  for  the  slightest  sus- 
picion. Is  it  credible,  indeed,  that  we  who  have  never  uttered 
a  single  seditious  expression,  should  be  meditating  the  overthrow 
of  states  ?  that  we  should  do  such  things,  whose  course  of  life 
was  so  peaceful  and  simple,  in  the  sight  of  all,  while  we  lived 
under  your  Majesty's  protection  ;  and  who  even  now,  though 
banished  from  our  homes,  cease  not  to  pray  God  to  crown 
both  you  and  your  kingdom  with  prosperity  and  joy?  Is  it 
probable  that  we  should  madly  desire  to  obtain  impunity  for 
every  kind  of  wickedness, — we  in  whose  character  there  may  be 
much  to  blame,  but  who  certainly  do  not  merit  so  bitter  a  re- 
proach ? 

vol.  i. — 5 


66  calvin's  epistle  to  francis  i.         [chap.  iv. 

"  Nor  have  we,  aided  by  the  grace  of  God,  so  little  prospered 
in  the  ways  of  the  Gospel,  as  not  to  be  able  to  answer  these 
slanderers  by  asserting  that  our  lives  have  afforded  examples  of 
chastity,  kindness,  and  mercy ;  of  moderation,  patience,  discre- 
tion, and  other  virtues.  Plainly  and  openly  may  it  be  seen,  our 
general  conduct  shows  it,  that  we  fear  and  worship  God  sincerely, 
and  in  our  hearts.  Our  only  desire  is,  that  his  name  may  be 
hallowed  both  by  our  life  and  by  our  death.  Our  enemies  them- 
selves have  been  often  constrained  to  bear  witness  to  the  inno- 
cency  and  blamelessness  of  our  character  as  citizens,  even  while 
they  were  punishing  that  with  death  which  was  deserving  of  the 
highest  praise. 

"  But  if  there  be  those  who,  with  a  pretended  zeal  for  the 
Gospel,  excite  seditions  and  practise  violence,  hitherto  unknown 
in  your  kingdom ;  or  if  others,  to  conceal  their  licentious  vices, 
assert,  as  an  excuse,  the  liberty  of  grace, — and  instances  of  such  I 
know  there  are, — let  it  be  remembered,  there  are  laws  and  punish- 
ments by  which  they  may  be  legally  and  properly  constrained. 
But  let  not  the  Gospel  of  God  be  blasphemed  on  account  of  the 
wickedness  of  evil  men  !  I  have  sufficiently  declared  the  infa- 
mous injustice  of  our  slanderers.  You  are  no  longer  without 
defence  against  their  machinations.  I  only  fear  that  I  may  have 
said  too  much,  my  preface  having  increased  to  an  apology.  It 
was  not  however  my  object  to  make  a  defence,  but  to  soften 
and  incline  your  heart  duly  to  consider  our  claims.  It  has  been 
alienated  from  us,  nay  inflamed  against  us ;  but  we  trust  to 
recover  your  favor,  if  you  will  deign  patiently  and  without  pre- 
judice to  read  this  our  confession,  which  we  would  also  lay  before 
your  Majesty  as  our  defence.  But  if  the  whispers  of  malicious 
men  so  occupy  your  ears,  that  no  place  can  be  allowed  to  the 
answers  of  the  accused,  and  those  importunate  furies  continue, 
with  your  consent,  to  threaten  us  with  bonds  and  scourges,  with 
the  rack,  with  fire  and  sword,  then  must  we  yield  ourselves  up, 
.as  sheep  appointed  to  the  slaughter,  but  still  so  as  to  possess 
our  souls  in  patience,  and  to  rest  in  hope  upon  the  strong  arm 
of  our  God,  who,  without  all  doubt,  will  appear  in  his  own  good 
time,  and  will  stretch  out  his  hand  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
poor  in  their  affliction,  and  will  exercise  vengeance  on  the  blas- 
phemers who  now  rejoice  in  their  vain  confidence  of  safety. 
May  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  illustrious  king,  establish  your  throne 
in  righteousness,  and  your  power  with  equity !" — Basel,  August 
1,  1535. 


A.D.  1535.]  TROUBLES    IN   FRANCE.  67 

The  mind  of  the  king  remained  immovable,  like  that  of  Charles 
when  appealed  to  by  Luther,  and  as  when,  at  a  later  period,  the 
admirable  Confession  drawn  up  by  Melancthon  was  read  to  him 
at  Augsburg.  Beza  supposes  that  Francis  never  looked  at  the 
work ;  this  however  is  not  credible,  considering  the  respect  which 
he  entertained  for  the  queen  of  Navarre.  But  his  irritable  dis- 
position made  him  regard  Calvin's  freedom  of  speech  as  a  crime.* 
Thus  the  precious  time  of  visitation  passed  away,  and  France 
knew  not  that  which  made  for  its  peace ;  even  as  it  was  with 
Jerusalem  in  those  days  when  the  Lord  wept  over  it.  And  so 
too  might  we  weep  over  blinded  France,  looking  not  forward  to 
those  days  of  trouble  which  it  has  prepared  for  itself,  and  which 
may  so  properly  be  regarded  as  the  consequence  of  its  rejection  of 
the  Gospel. 

Soon  after  the  reign  of  Francis  I.  the  power  and  character  of 
the  two  terrible  parties  were  developed,  which  in  their  conflict 
with  each  other  rent  the  land  in  twain.  Then  followed  the 
frightful  regency  of  Catharine  of  Medicis,  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew, and  the  long  fanatical  war  of  the  evangelical  party 
against  the  league  and  Spain.  Providence  indeed  once  again 
offered  that  peace  to  France  which  truth  only  can  afford ;  all 
obstacles  to  its  reception  were  removed  ;  a  protestant  king  was 
called  to  the  throne  ;  Henry  IV.  arrived  in  Paris.  But  ignorance 
of  human  nature,  and  the  political  caution  of  Sully,  whose  faith- 
ful heart  nothing  could  separate  from  the  interests  of  the  king, 
yet  who  viewed  religion  as  consisting  rather  in  universal  benevo- 
lence than  in  belief  in  Christ,  as  is  seen  in  his  history  of  the  king's 
conversion,  were  the  main  causes  why  France  allowed  this 
blessed  moment  to  pass  by  unemployed.  Henry  did  not  ob- 
tain his  end,  the  reconciliation,  that  is,  of  the  two  parties  by 
mutual  love  and  forbearance.!      He  lived  in  constant  anxiety, 


*  "  Quam  si  forte  legisset — magnum  esset  meretrici  Babylonicse  jam  turn  vulnus 
illatum."     V.  C. 

f  Brantome  reports  that  one  day,  when  the  king  was  speaking  on  the  subject,  he 
allowed  the  observation  to  escape  him,  that  this  novelty  tended  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  monarchy,  both  human  and  divine.  In  fact,  this  prince  exhibited  an  irreconcil- 
able hatred  against  the  protestants,  inherited  too  plainly  by  his  successors.  The 
lesson  remained  to  them.  This  opinion  is  derived  from  the  insinuations  of  ecclesi- 
astics. This  king,  says  the  president  Henault,  an.  1534,  complaining  of  the  pope  to 
the  nuncio,  warned  him  of  the  example  of  Henry  VIII.  The  nuncio  replied,  "  Indeed, 
sire,  you  would  be  the  first  to  suffer  harm.  When  the  people  have  a  new  religion, 
the  next  thing  they  wish  is  a  new  prince."  Francis  should  have  answered  that 
neither  Henry  VIII.  nor  Gustavus  Vasa,  nor  any  of  the  Saxon  princes,  was  dethroned 
because  he  embraced  the  reformed  doctrine.     Villiers,  Essai,  p.  140. 


68  TROUBLES    IN    FRANCE.  [CHAP.  IV. 

treated  by  both  parties  as  a  heretic*  Mistrust  and  hatred  were 
the  only  fruits  of  his  benevolence ;  and  at  last  the  spirit  of  evil 
rewarded  his  departure  from  the  truth  by  assassination,  and  that 
by  the  hand  of  the  party  to  which  he  had  gone  over.  Had  his 
life  been  prolonged,  and  had  Sully's  noble  plan  been  brought  to 
perfection,  to  accomplish  which  the  army  stood  prepared,  for  hum- 
bling, that  is,  the  catholic  party,  and  the  house  of  Austria  in  Ger- 
many, the  thirty  years'  war,  with  all  its  miseries,  would  probably 
have  been  avoided. 

After  the  death  of  Henry,  the  anger  of  God  against  France  was 
again  seen  in  the  oppression  of  the  Gospel,  under  the  wretched 
Richelieu,  who  beheld  with  delight  the  thirty  years  of  suffering 
endured  by  Germany.  Nor  was  it  less  visible  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Louis  XIV.,  w7ho,  in  his  old  age,  becoming  a  tool  of  the 
fanatical  papists,  revoked  the  edict  of  Nantes,  drove  the  best  of 
his  subjects,  those  most  distinguished  for  their  faith  and  morals, 
out  of  the  country ;  gave  occasion  to  the  Camisard  war,  and  na- 
tionalized all  those  abuses  which  a  free  evangelical  spirit  would 
have  extirpated.  Through  his  fanatical,  despotic,  voluptuous 
disposition,  he  corrupted  the  morals  of  the  people,  and  prepared 
the  way  for  the  terrors  of  the  revolution,  the  effects  of  which  are 
still  felt. 

But  Ave  now  approach  another  portion  of  the  era  marked  by  the 
visitation  of  the  Lord,  who  will  not  refuse  to  teach  his  people  the 
things  which  concern  their  peace,  hitherto  hidden  from  their  eyes. 
Equal  rights  are  now  accorded  to  the  members  of  both  religious 
parties,  and  the  door  is  open  to  the  Gospel.  If  the  love  of  truth, 
if  clear  notions  and  experience  have  not  yet  enlightened  the  in- 
ward eye  of  the  mass  of  the  people,  still  that  spirit  of  darkness 
which  ruled  in  former  times  no  longer  prevails  ;  another  power 
will  soon  commence  its  reign.  Protestants  foretell  the  conversion 
of  the  nations  ;  and  truth,  in  the  end,  will  satisfy  their  long  thirst 
after  freedom. 

*  Henry  became  a  catholic,  and  indeed  'with  the  consent  of  Beza,  who,  after  the 
death  of  Calvin,  who  never  would  have  given  his  assent,  was  the  head  of  the  reformed 
party,  their  patriarch  and  oracle.  He  regarded  this  step  as  necessary.  He  sought  to 
promote,  at  the  same  time,  the  best  interests  of  the  kingdom  and  the  salvation  of  the 
Kin^.  The  attention  of  Sully,  with  whom  he  corresponded,  was  by  his  wish  espe- 
cially directed  to  this  matter.  The  documents  on  the  subject  are  preserved  at  Gotha. 
— Schlosser,  L.  B.  p.  272. 


CHAPTEIl  V. 

THE    FIRST    EDITION    OF    CALVIN's    'INSTITUTES.' 

The  'Institutes,'  sent  to  the  king  of  France  with  the  preface 
spoken  of  above,  and  written  against  the  Anabaptists  then  very- 
active  in  that  country,  exhibit  the  faith  of  Calvin  as  he  then  held 
it,  and  as  he  continued  to  hold  it  through  the  whole  of  his  life. 
It  is  generally  allowed  that  there  are  few  books  to  be  compared 
with  this,  whether  we  examine  its  doctrine  or  its  method,  the 
clearness  of  its  arguments,  or  the  correctness  of  its  style.*  A 
learned  Hungarian,  Paulus  Thurius,  said,  in  a  Latin  distich,t  that 
nothing  equal  to  it  had  appeared  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles. 
But  this  refers  only  to  the  first  sketch  of  the  work,  which,  lost 
probably  in  the  storm  of  persecution,  the  Sorbonne  having  issued 
an  especial  order  for  its  being  burnt,  is  now  one  of  the  rarest  of 
books.  Calvin  thus  speaks  on  the  subject  in  his  Latin  preface  to 
the  Psalms  : — 

When  I  was  living  obscure  and  unknown  at  Basel,  and 
when  many  pious  men  had  been  burned  in  Fiance,  and  their 
execution  had  inspired  the  Germans  with  deep  hatred  and  in- 
dignation, efforts  were  diligently  made  to  quiet  the  feelings  thus 
excited.  For  this  purpose,  false  and  wicked  pamphlets  were 
circulated,  and  in  these  it  was  asserted  that  the  Anabaptists 
only,  men  of  unquiet  spirit,  whose  fanaticism  threatened  to  de- 
stroy all  social  order  as  well  as  religion,  had  been  the  sufferers. 
When  I  saw  that  this  was  a  mere  court  artifice,  invented  to 
conceal  the  shedding  of  the  innocent  blood  of  holy  martyrs  by 
the  lying  pretence  that  they  who  suffered  were  utterly  despi- 
cable ;  and  when  I  saw  that,  if  this  were  not  contradicted,  the 
persecutors  would  continue  to  rage  and  massacre  unchecked, 
I  knew  that  my  silence,  or  my  not  opposing  myself  with  all 
my  strength  to  their  fury,  would  be  treason  to  the  cause  of 
righteousness.     This  was  the  occasion  which  led  to  the  publica- 

*  Especially  in  the  last  and  complete  edition. 

"  Praeter  apostolicas  post  Christi  tempora  chartas, 
Huic  peperere  libro  sa;cula  nulla  parem." 


70  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

tion  of  the  '  Institutes.'  My  first  object  was  to  free  my  brethren, 
whose  death  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  God,  from  a  shameful 
slander ;  my  next  was,  as  many  more  of  our  unhappy  people 
were  threatened  with  similar  cruelties,  to  excite  at  least  some  feel- 
ing of  pity  and  compassion  for  their  sufferings  in  other  nations. 
I  did  not  however  at  that  time  produce  the  large  and  laborious 
work  which  is  now  before  the  public,  but  a  mere  sketch  of  the 
design.  How  far  I  was  from  seeking  fame  by  the  attempt,  is  suf- 
ficiently evident  from  the  circumstance,  that  I  again  left  Basel, 
and  that  without  its  even  being  known  from  whose  pen  the  work 
proceeded.  It  was  also  my  intention  still  to  keep  the  matter  a 
secret." 

Our  next  inquiry  is,  in  what  year  this  first  edition  appeared. 
According  to  Beza,  it  was  published  in  1535,  when  Calvin  was 
living  at  Basel.  The  edition  of  1535  has  however  never  been 
seen,  that  of  1536  being  the  earliest  actually  known.  Gerdes  re- 
marks indeed  that  the  printers  of  that  time  were  probably  in  the 
habit  of  putting  on  the  title-page,  not  the  date  of  the  year  in 
which  the  book  was  printed,  but  that  of  the  following  year.  The 
edition  however  of  1536  could  not  be  the  first ;  for  in  this  Calvin, 
as  he  states,  did  not  allow  his  name  to  appear,  whereas  in  that  of 
1536  he  speaks  of  himself  by  name.  According  to  Gerdes  a  copy 
of  the  latter  edition  existed  in  Brunswick,  and  another  in  Geneva, 
but  in  the  Geneva  copy  the  first  forty-two  pages  were  wanting.  It 
is  not  now  to  be  found  at  Geneva,  but  perfect  copies  may  be  seen 
at  Zurich  and  Bern.  It  seems  that  the  first  edition  was  quickly 
sold  ;  so  at  least  we  may  gather  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Calvin 
by  Samarthanus,  professor  in  an  academy  at  Poictu.  The  letter, 
which  is  written  in  the  language  of  ardent  admiration,  is  dated 
April,  1537,  and  contains  the  following  passage :  "  I  am  distress 
ed  above  measure,  that  while  we  have  been  deprived  of  you,  we 
are  also  denied  the  advantage  of  possessing  that  other  Calvin 
who  might  have  discoursed  to  us, — I  mean  the  'Institutes.'  I 
envy  Germany  the  enjoyment  of  a  privilege  which  we  cannot  yet 
procure."  Bayle  also  believes  that  the  edition  published  at 
Basel  per  Thomam  Platterum  ei  Balthasarem  Latium  was  not 
the  first,  and  confutes  Moreri,  who  speaks  of  an  edition  of  the 
year  1531. 

According  to  these  facts,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  a  first 
edition  existed  in  1535;  the  occurrence  which  gave  rise  to  the 
work  having  taken  place  at  the  end  of  the  year  153-1,  and  the 
persecution  commencing    at  the  beginning  of   1535.     It  would 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  '  institutes.'  71 

have  been  absurd  to  delay  the  publication  a  whole  year  ;  nor  is 
it  conceivable  that  Calvin,  impatient  as  he  was,  would  do  so. 
The  materials  of  the  book  had  been  in  part  prepared  ;  it  was 
written  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  only  portion  of  it  which  ex- 
hibits signs  of  labor  is  the  address  to  Francis.  We  may  suppose 
then  that  the  months  of  February,  March,  and  April,  were  dili- 
gently employed  in  the  composition  of  the  work  ;  it  might  pass 
through  the  press  in  the  three  following,  and  be  published  in 
August.  But  the  point  to  be  next  noticed  is  decisive.  The 
edition  sent  me  from  Zurich  is  in  every  respect  the  same  as  that 
described  by  Gerdes  and  Turretin.  Calvin  names  himself 
three  times  in  this  edition,  and  at  the  end  are  the  words  Mense 
Martio  anno  1536.*  The  dedication  to  Francis,  which  formed 
the  introduction,  belongs  to  the  first  edition,  which  probably 
appeared  in  August,  1535.  Tt  was  impossible  that  he  could  be 
ready  with  the  Latin  work  before  us,  not  concluded  till  the 
end  of  January,  in  the  month  of  March,  1535.  Add  to  this,  that 
even  if  Francis  and  his  sister  Margaret  understood  Latin, 
the  practical  mind  of  Calvin  would  never  have  allowed  him 
to  send  a  book  written  in  Latin  to  the  French  court ;  and  since 
it  was  his  intention  to  write  most  of  his  works  in  both  languages, 
it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  write  his  first  only  in  Latin. 
His  little  essay  on  the  Sleep  of  the  Soul,  and  that  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,  were  originally  written  in  French.  We  may  therefore 
suppose  that  there  was  a  first  edition  of  the  '  Institutes'  in  that 
language,  in  which  his  name  was  not  inserted.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1536,  he  translated  the  work  into  Latin  for 
circulation  in  Italy,  where  it  could  be  but  little  read  while  in 
French,  and  this  translation  was  printed  Mense  Martio.  I  have 
even  found  in  a  French  edition  of  the  l  Institutes'  of  1566  the 
preface  to  the  king,  in  Calvin's  old  style,  with  the  subscription, 
Basle,  le  premier  cPAout,  1535,  so  that  this  epistle  must  neces- 
sarily be  of  the  date  here  set  down.  In  the  old  Latin  edition  of 
1561,  published  in  Calvin's  lifetime,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  now 
before  me,  the  date  appended  to  the  letter  is  1536 ;  the  later 
French  edition  has  1535,  and  the  later  Latin,  1536.  The  day  of 
the  month  is  variously  given.  That  which  Gerdes  says,  respect- 
ing the  date  on  the  title-page  being  that  of  the  year  following 
the  one  in  which  the  work  was  printed,  is  altogether  unten- 
able.    Otherwise  the  same   must  have  been   the  case  with  the 

*  This  does  not  agree  with  the  Epistola  Xuncuputoria  addressed  to  Francis,  which 
bears  the  date  10  Cal.  Sept.  (23  August)  without  that  of  the  year. 


72  calvin's  'institutes.'  [chap. v. 

other  works  of  Calvin,  but  it  is  not  so.  The  French  edition  is 
lost,  and  the  Latin  now  before  us  is  the  translation,  which  ap- 
peared in  153G,  and  in  which  he  names  himself  three  times,  and 
therefore  could  not  be  the  first.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  Daniel, 
October  13,  1536,  he  mentions  that  he  was  daily  expecting  the 
appearance  of  the  French  edition  of  his  writings,  which  he 
wished  to  send  him  with  the  letter.  It  clearly  appears  from  this 
that  the  '  Institutes'  existed  in  French,  Daniel  having  already 
received  the  earlier  works.  In  the  revised  edition  prepared  at 
Strasburg  he  assumed  the  appellation  of  '  Alcuin,'  as  a  species  of 
anagram,  in  order  that  the  work  might  not  be  rejected  in  Roman 
catholic  countries  on  account  of  his  hated  name.* 

Let  us  look  now  at  the  contents  of  the  work.  The  first  chapter 
is  on  the  Law,  and  the  author  begins  with  describing  the  perfec- 
tions of  God  and  the  wretchedness  of  fallen  man.  In  the  last 
edition,  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  ourselves  forms  the  main 
subject  of  the  introductory  chapter,  and  many  thoughts  and  ex- 
pressions are  found,  not  existing  in  the  earlier  editions. 

The  misery  of  the  first  man,  says  Calvin,  was  not  confined  to 
himself:  it  has  descended  to  us  all,  and  is  inborn.  He  expresses 
himself  piously  and  eloquently  on  this  subject,  and  observes : 
"If  a  man  exhibits  in  a  shining  exterior  an  appearance 
of  piety  and  holiness,  this  is  but  hypocrisy,  and  is  hateful  be- 
fore God,  for  the  feelings  of  his  heart  are  still  base  and 
corrupt." 

His  doctrinal  principle  is  thus  briefly  described : — "  Although 
we  are  so  born  that  we  can  do  nothing  which  is  pleasing  to 
God,  yet  we  do  not  on  that  account  cease  to  be  responsible  for 
the  duties  which   we  cannot  fulfil.     It  is  not  permitted  us  to 

*  The  edition,  a  copy  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  library  at  Zurich,  has  the  follow- 
ing title: — "  Christiana:  religionis  institutio,  totam  ten"',  pietatis  summam,  et  quicquid 
est  in  doctrina  salutis  cogaitu  nccessarium,  complectens:  omnibus  pietatis  studiosis 
lectu  dignissimum  opus,  ac  recens  editum. 

"  Praefatio  ad  Christianissimum  Regem  Francire,  qua  hie  ei  liber  pro  confessione 
fidei  offertur. 

"Joanne  Calvino, 

Nouiodmu'iisi  autore.* 

13asilea>, 

kdzxxvl" 

At  the  end,  "  Basileai,  perThomam  Platterum  et  Batthasarem  Lasium  (not  Latium) 

menee  Martin,  Anno  1536."     It  is  a  small  octavo  volume  of  514  pages,  and  six  pages 

for  the  index.     After  the  index  is  a  figure  of  Minerva,  with  the  inscription, — "  Tu 

nihil  iuvita  I'acies  dicesve  Minerva."     There  is   no  flaming  sword  at  the  beginning  of 

the  work. 


*  Calvin  names  himself  twice  at  the  beginning  of  the  preface,  and  a  third  time  in 
the  superscription  of  the  first  chapter. 


A.D.  1535.]  calvin's   '  INSTITUTES.'  73 

plead  as  an  excuse  that  we  want  the  ability  to  obey,  for  it  is 
our  guilt  and  our  sin  which  hold  us  in  bondage,  and  render  us 
incapable  of  doing  or  willing  that  which  is  good.  But  God  is 
a  righteous  judge,  and  we  are  all  therefore  subject  to  his  wrath, 
and  to  the  punishment  of  everlasting  death,  not  a  man  existing 
who  either  can  or  will  fulfil  his  duty,  in  whatever  it  may  con- 
sist. 

"  This  sentiment  is  the  origin  of  the  doctrine  of  grace.  Man 
has  liberty  in  respect  to  good,  but  only  in  a  limited  degree. 
The  anger  of  God  rests  upon  us,  and  we  feel  that  he  is  right- 
eous, unable  as  we  are  to  perform  that  which  is  good.  We  are, 
of  our  own  free  will,  fallen  with  the  first  man  ;  and  grace  alone, 
the  renovation  which  is  from  God,  can  help  us.  Man,  accord- 
ing to  Scripture,  is  a  child  of  wrath ;  we  have  plunged  ourselves 
into  a  state  of  death  and  condemnation,  and  have  nothing  in  us 
but  weakness,  corruption,  death  and  hell.  That  man  may  know 
this,  God  has  set  forth  the  law.  This  teaches  nothing  different 
from  the  conscience ;  but  because  man  is  too  blind  to  look 
inwardly  upon  himself,  God  has  given  him  a  written  law.  As 
we  cannot  however  properly  fulfil  this  law,  we  must  seek  some 
other  way  of  salvation.  This  is  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  When, 
accordingly,  we  are  humble  and  penitent,  God  shows  himself 
merciful  towards  us.  And  this  saving  grace  we  receive  through 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  being  one  with  the  Father,  and 
God  himself,  took  our  nature  upon  him.  He  has  brought  into 
the  world  the  fulness  of  all  heavenly  blessings,  that  he  may  make 
us  abound  therewith.  Such  are  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  re- 
newed by  which  we  are  freed  from  the  power  and  bonds  of  the 
devil,  are  graciously  accepted  as  the  children  of  God,  and  are 
prepared  and  sanctified  for  every  good  work.  Through  the 
operation  of  this  blessed  Spirit,  the  wicked  passions  and  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh,  which  still  exist  in  us  while  we  are  in  this 
mortal  body,  now  die  in  us  ;  through  his  power  we  are  renewed 
day  by  day,  that  we  may  enjoy  a  new  existence,  and  live  uuto 
righteousness." 

How  true  and  complete  his  conversion  was  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  passage  : — "  All  these  good  things  come  to  us  from 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  To  him  we  owe  the  free  forgiveness 
of  sins,  peace,  reconciliation  with  God,  the  gifts  and  graces  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  When  we  comprehend  all  this  with  the  as- 
surance of  faith,  reposing  confidently  on  the  divine  goodness, 
and   not  doubting   but  that   the  Word  of   God  which  promises 


74  calvin's  'institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

these  things  is  itself  power  and  truth, — when,  moreover,  we 
enter  into  communion  with  Christ, — then  we  become  possessed 
in  him  of  all  those  treasures  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
lead  to  life  and  salvation.  To  this  we  can  only  attain  through 
a  living  and  true  faith,  knowing  that  he  is  our  sole  good,  that 
we  are  nothing  without  him,  but  that  in  him  we  are  children 
of  God  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  On  the  other 
hand,  those  unhappy  people  who  have  no  part  in  Christ,  be  they 
what  they  may,  or  do  whatever  they  can,  are  hastening  forward 
to  shame  and  destruction,  to  the  judgment  of  everlasting  death, 
rejected  by  God  and  shut  out  from  the  hope  of  salvation.  And 
since  we  cannot  of  ourselves  attain  unto  the  knowledge  of  our 
poverty  and  misery,  or  acquire  faith  from  any  exercise  of  our 
own  ability,  we  must  pray  God  to  lead  us  by  true  repentance 
unto  knowledge,  and  by  faith  to  the  experience  of  his  compas- 
sion, and  of  the  sweetness  of  his  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  who, 
as  the  only  way  to  the  Father,  can  bring  us  to  eternal  happi- 
ness." 

The  last  passage  shows  how  closely  the  doctrine  of  election  was 
connected  in  his  mind  with  that  of  conversion  by  grace. 

A  short  exposition  of  the  Ten  Commandments  follows  the  sec- 
tion from  which  we  have  quoted  the  above.  Calvin  restores  the 
old  division  of  the  commandments,  that  which  was  followed  in 
the  primitive  church.  He  speaks,  in  the  first  place,  against  the 
error  of  uniting  the  first  and  second  commandments  in  one,  a 
usage  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  giving  less  force  to  the  prohi- 
bition against  graven  images,  and  which  rendered  it  necessary  to 
divide  the  second  commandment  into  two  parts.  This  was  done, 
but  not  generally  approved  of,  even  in  the  time  of  Augustine,  who 
however  excused  it  on  the  frivolous  excuse  that  in  the  threefold 
division  there  was  a  shadowing  out  of  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity. 
Independent  of  this,  the  old  and  legitimate  arrangement  pleased 
him  better.  I  have  little  doubt  that  all  this  was  effected  through 
the  artifice  of  Satan,  that  the  souls  of  men  might  gradually  lose 
sight  of  the  commandment  which  so  distinctly  forbids  the  worship 
of  images. 

"  The  whole  law  tends  to  prove  this,  that  we  should  love  God 
and  our  neighbor.  It  is  not  of  ourselves  that  it  speaks  :  we 
are  already  sufficiently  inclined  to  self-love.  The  law  is  spiritual, 
and  is  intended  to  improve  the  inner  man.  Hence  Christ  has 
given  new  and  sublimer  commandments,  directed  to  the  sanc- 
tifying of    the  inner    being,   thereby  provoking   the    enmity  of 


A.D  1535.]  calvin's   '  INSTITUTES.'  75 

those  who  pretend  that  they  are  too  onerous  and  difficult. 
Grace  does  not  destroy  the  law.  All  men  sin,  and  the  curse  rests 
upon  all,  and  desperation  follows.  The  law  can  do  no  otherwise 
than  judge  the  sinner,  and  condemn  him  before  God,  that  God 
only  may  be  justified,  and  that  all  flesh  may  be  silent  in  his  pres- 
ence." 

This  is  followed  by  a  confutation  of  the  Roman  catholic  error, 
that  a  man  may  partly  fulfil  the  law,  and  partly  atone  for  his  sins, 
by  satisfaction  and  works  of  supererogation, — an  error  which 
agrees  inconceivably  well  with  our  fallen  nature.  The  author 
here  adduces  the  awful  description  of  man's  wickedness,  in  which 
it  is  said  that  there  is  nothing  good  in  him  from  the  crown  of  his 
head  to  the  sole  of  his  foot.  It  is  our  sin  to  be  always  seeking  to 
excuse  our  unworthiness,  and  to  convert  the  gifts  of  grace  into  a 
cause  of  self-congratulation.  But  God's  righteousness  alone  is 
perfect :  our  own  righteousness  is  iniquity,  our  integrity  is  pollu- 
tion, our  glory  is  ignominy. 

This  exact  knowledge  of  the  unworthiness  of  man,  in  reference 
to  the  divine  law,  furnishes  another  fundamental  principle  of  his 
theological  system. 

All  the  works  of  men  are  stained  with  sin.  Even  one  wicked 
work  is  sufficient  to  render  us  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God.  Hence 
under  the  law  we  are  not  to  consider  the  work,  but  the  command- 
ment ;  for  if  righteousness  comes  by  the  law,  it  is  not  this  or  that 
good  work  which  justifies  us,  but  a  constant  obedience,  which  is 
impossible.  God  cannot  be  reconciled  to  man  as  a  sinner  and  an 
enemy :  but  we  are  his  enemies  so  long  as  we  are  sinners  ;  our 
sins  therefore  must  be  forgiven  before  God  will  look  favorably 
upon  any  work  of  ours,  and  hence  the  forgiveness  of  sins  must 
come  from  grace. 

Man  accordingly  must  be  freed  from  the  law,  not  in  a  carnal 
way,  but  in  that  spiritual  sense  which  again  raises  the  depressed 
conscience.  We  arrive  at  this  through  faith  in  God's  mercy  in 
Christ.  It  is  not  once  only,  but  throughout  our  lives,  that  God 
grants  us  this  forgiveness. 

He  especially  refers  to  St.  Paul,  where  he  shows,  that  if  the 
promise  is  of  the  law,  "faith  is  made  void,  and  the  promise  of 
none  effect."*  This  promise  will  be  fulfilled  in  those  only  who 
believe  that  it  must  be  fulfilled  in  them,  that  is,  in  those  who 
have  faith.  A  firm  belief  therefore  is  followed  by  a  sure  prom- 
ise of  salvation,  which  God  will  certainly  fulfil  in  the  case  of 

*  Rom.  iv.  14. 


76  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

the  faithful,  our  whole  hope  being  originally  founded  in  the  un- 
fathomable depths  of  mercy. 

Here  again  we  discover  the  characteristic  effort,  to  give  all  to 
God,  and  to  reduce  man  to  nothingness.  We  can  never  suffi- 
ciently trust  in  God,  unless  we  altogether  distrust  ourselves  ;  we 
can  never  properly  raise  our  minds  to  the  contemplation  of  his 
perfections,  unless  we  first  understand  our  own  debasement  ; 
we  shall  never  find  consolation  in  him,  unless  we  first  despair  of 
finding  it  in  ourselves.  We  are  justified  through  Christ;  his 
righteousness,  which  is  one  and  perfect,  and  which  alone  can 
stand  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  reckoned  unto  us  as  if  it  were  our 
own. 

The  use  of  the  law  is  threefold  : — 1.  It  exhibits  God's  righteous- 
ness, and  convinces  us  of  sin.  2.  It  shows  how  God  punishes  and 
threatens  the  offender  with  death  and  judgment.  3.  It  continu- 
ally admonishes  those  in  whom  the  spirit  of  God  is,  and  shows 
them  what  is  right.  The  law  is  necessary  to  the  indolent;  it  is 
to  the  flesh  as  a  whip  to  the  slow  and  lazy  ass.  Justification  is 
unattainable  through  good  works,  not  because  good  works  may 
not  exist,  but  because  we  must  not  place  our  trust  in  them.  Our 
confidence  is,  that  Christ  was  given  for  us. 

Our  author  inquires  further  into  the  nature  of  this  trust. 
Paul  declares  that  it  is  the  only  safe  foundation.  In  what  then 
does  it  consist?  Perhaps  in  this,  that  Christ,  the  beginning  of 
our  salvation,  opened  to  us  the  way,  while  he  created  for  us, 
through  his  merits,  the  means  of  deserving  it  ?  By  no  means  ; 
but  because  we  have  been  chosen  in  him  from  eternity,  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  that  altogether  not  through  our 
own  desert,  but  according  to  the  predestinating  will  of  God ; 
because  we  have  been  delivered,  through  his  sufferings,  from 
condemnation  and  everlasting  ruin  ;  because  the  Father  has  ac- 
cepted us  in  him  as  children  and  heirs,  and  has  placed  us,  being 
reconciled  by  his  blood,  under  his  protection,  that  we  may  never 
perish,  and  has  so  ingrafted  us  in  him  that  we  may  be  said 
already  to  have  passed,  through  hope,  into  eternal  life.  And 
Christ  perfects  the  elect  ;  in  a  word,  he  seeks  such  to  follow  him 
who  deny  themselves  and  take  up  the  cross.  All  perfection  is 
found  in  the  example  of  Christ.  But  man  is  not  justified  before 
God  by  his  works ;  we  declare,  on  the  other  hand,  that  all  who 
are  of  God  are  renewed  and  new  creatures,  and  pass  from  the 
kingdom  of  sin  into  the  kingdom  of  righteousness.  And  hereby 
prove   they    their   calling,    as    good    fruit  proves  the  good    tree, 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  'institutes.'  77 

Through  this  one  thing  we  answer  the  slander  of  those  godless 
men,  who  represent  us  as  if  we  regarded  good  works  as  useless  ; 
or  preached  a  too  easy  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  so  tempted  men  to 
sin,  because  pardon  is  offered  through  grace. 

The  second  chapter  treats  of  Faith.  Faith  is  twofold  :  it 
consists,  on  the  one  side,  in  a  conviction  of  the  being  of  God,  and 
in  an  historical  belief  in  Christ,  which  we  have  in  common  with 
the  wicked  spirits.  On  the  other,  it  consists  in  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  of  Christ  as  the  redeemer,  and  in  a  sure  trust  in  his 
mercy. 

In  speaking  of  the  Trinity,  he  shows  that  he  was  already  occu- 
pied with  the  errors  of  Servetus,  but  without  mentioning  his 
name.  "Impious  men,"  he  says,  "ridicule  us  because  we  ac- 
knowledge one  God  in  three  persons."  He  would  have  entered 
further  into  this  subject,  but  he  was  concerned  at  present  with 
believers  only :  he  proves  however  the  unity  of  God  in  three 
persons,  according  to  Scripture,  and  defends  the  use  of  the  terms 
oiiolu  and  v.TOffTciffet^  showing  also  that  in  the  controversy  with 
the  Arians  it  was  necessary  to  employ  the  word  o/joovotog,  and 
to  assert,  against  the  Sabellians,  that  in  the  unity  of  these  exists 
a  Trinity  of  persons.  Hence  we  must  use  the  word  consubstan- 
tial  in  reference  to  the  one,  and  the  word  Trinity  when  speaking 
of  the  others. 

A  short  exposition  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  is  introduced  in  this 
place.* 

In  describing  the  order  in  which  the  several  parts  of  the  work 


*  "  Quod  vero  ad  inferos  descendit,  id  significat  afflictum  a  Deo  fuisse  ac  di- 
vini  judicii  horrorem  et  severitatem  sensisse ;  ut  irre  Dei  intercederet,  ac  ejus 
justitioe  nostro  nomine  satisfaceret.  Neque  intelligendum  est  patrem  illi  un- 
quam  iratum  fuisse — sed  hoc  sensu.  Omnia  irati  Dei  signa  expertus  est,  ut 
coactus  fuerit  urgente  angustia  exclamare :  Pater,  Pater,  ut  quid  me  dereli- 
quisti  ?  Id  sane  dicitur  ipsum  descendisse  ad  inferos,  non  autem  in  locum  ali- 
quem  certum  (cui  Lymbi  nomen  confictum  est,)  quo  patres  veluti  carcere  clausi 
tenerentur.  Hasc  fabula — nihil  tamen  quam  fabula  est.  Neque  in  eum  sen- 
sum  accipi  debet  Petri  locus  quem  semper  obtrudunt ;  hoc  enim  tantum  voluit 
Petrus,  virtutem  redemptionis  exhibitam  et  plane  manifestatam  eorum  spiriti- 
bus,  qui  ante  id  tempus  defuncti  fuerant,  etc.  Fideles  tunc  praesenti  adspectu 
perspexerunt  ejus  visitationem.  Petrus  hanc  eorum  anxiam  expectationem  carcerem 
appellat.  Scriptura  testificatur  turn  in  sinu  Abrahse  eos  fuisse,  ut  nunc  etiam 
sunt,  hoc  est  in  requie.  H;ec  particula  de  descensu  ad  inferos  a  nonnullis  amissa, 
minime  tamen  superflua,  utpote  quze  rerum  maximarum  maxima  mysteria  con- 
tinet." 

Of  the  Holy  Ghost  he  says,  "  Verum  cum  Patre  et  Filio  Deum  esse,  tertiam  per- 
sonam Sacrosanctce  Trinitatis,  Patri  et  Filio  consubstantialem  ac  coieternum,  omnipo- 
tentem,  omniumque  creatorem." 

Of  the  church  he  says,  "We  believe  the  holy  catholic  or  universal  church,  that  is, 
the  society  of  all  the  elect,  whether  angels  or  men,  living  or  dead,  among  all  nations, 
whose  head  is  Christ." 


78  calvin's  'institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

of  salvation  are  to  be  viewed,  he  shows  how  God  proceeds  with  his 
people.  Those  whom  He  has  chosen  hear  his  call ;  those  whom 
He  has  called  he  justifies  ;  and  those  whom  He  has  justified  he 
glorifies.  Paul,  in  the  passage  referred  to,  is  describing  nothing 
else  than  the  eternal  election  through  which  God  appointed  them 
to  salvation,  even  before  their  birth. 

It  is  in  this  manner  that  God  reveals,  without  exception,  the 
election  by  grace,  and  no  one  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
who  is  not  called  and  justified.  The  holy  Scriptures  employ  the 
word  choice,  or  election,  in  order  to  accommodate  themselves  to 
our  capacit}^,  and  to  indicate  the  state  of  our  souls  when  the  call- 
ing and  the  justifying  have  shown  themselves  in  operation. 
Thence  it  happens,  that  they  number  among  the  people  of  God 
those  on  whom  God  has  exercised  his  power,  although  they  have 
not  been  elected  ;  while,  on  the  other  side,  many  of  the  elect  are 
not  numbered  among  them,  because  they  have  not  as  yet  exhibit- 
ed any  outward  sign  of  their  election.  But  no  reference  is  here 
made  to  that  unchangeable  providence  of  God  which  can  never 
contradict  itself.  Those  of  whom  we  have  spoken  are  described 
only  as  the  children  of  God  may  become  known  to  us,  that  is,  as 
those  who  have  been  under  the  influence  of  his  Spirit.* 

But  as  the  church  consists  of  the  elect  people  of  God,  its  true 
members  can  never  finally  fall  or  perish  ;  their  salvation  rests 
on  such  a  firm  foundation,  that,  were  the  whole  world  destroyed, 
they  would  remain  secure.  In  the  first  place,  their  salvation  is 
established  by  the  counsel  of  God's  election  ;  and  to  alter  this, 
God's  own  eternal  wisdom  must  suffer  change  or  decay.  The 
elect  therefore  may  perhaps  stumble,  or  be  driven  to  and  fro, 
or  even  fall,  but  they  cannot  perish,  for  God  upholds  them  with 
his  hand.  This  is  what  Paul  says.  God  never  repents  of  his 
gifts  of  grace  or  of  his  election.  Those  whom  He  has  chosen  He 
gives  to  Christ,  to  his  faithfulness  and  protecting  power,  that 
they  may  never  perish,  but  that  He  may  raise  them  all  at  the 
last  day.  They  may  wander,  they  may  fall  under  this  good 
shepherd,  but  they  can  never  perish.  Nor  must  we  doubt  that 
God  has  had  a  church  upon  earth  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  ;  nor  that  this  church,  according  to  his  own  promise,  will 
ever  cease  to  exist.  For  although  the  human  race  was  rendered 
corrupt  by  the  sin  of  Adam,  He  ever  sanctifies  some  out  of  the 
polluted  mass  as  vessels  of  honor,  that  there  may    never   be  a 

*  Powerful  impressions  which  only  act  on  the  surface.  The  nou-elect  may  be  for 
a  time  wrought  upon  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 


A.D.  1535.]  calvin's   '  INSTITUTES.'  79 

period  without  evidence  of  his  mercy.  In  a  word,  we  must  believe 
in  the  church,  that,  trusting  in  the  goodness  of  God,  we  may  be 
convinced  that  we  ourselves  belong  to  it,  and  that  with  the  rest 
of  God's  elect,  with  whom  we  have  been  chosen  and  in  part 
justified,  we  shall  hereafter  be  perfectly  justified  and  glorified. 
We  cannot  however  understand  the  incomprehensible  wisdom 
of  God  :  it  is  not  our  office  to  know  or  determine  who  are  the 
elect,  and  who  are  the  reprobate. 

In  order  to  place  ourselves  on  the  eminence  from  which  Calvin 
took  his  grand,  majestic  view  of  the  universe,  we  must  proceed 
from  the  idea  of  the  church,  to  contemplate  the  hidden  communi- 
ty of  the  elect,  who,  for  the  most  part,  are  still  in  a  state  of  slum- 
ber, unconscious  as  yet  of  their  election,  and  in  respect  to  whom 
the  business  of  the  preacher  is  to  awaken  their  souls,  and  bring 
them  to  Jesus. 

Calvin  well  observes  on  this  point,  that  contented  with  having 
been  made  children  of  God,  and  with  finding  life  in  Christ,  we 
ought  not  to  inquire  any  further  into  the  mystery.  They  who 
will  not  be  satisfied  with  this,  but  would  go  deeper  into  the  sub- 
ject, excite  God's  anger  against  themselves  ;  and  because  they 
would  fathom  the  abyss  of  his  majesty,  they  must  expect  to  be 
consumed  in  the  splendor  of  his  glory.  Since  Christ  is  the  truth, 
it  is  in  his  word  that  we  must  study  the  will  of  God.  When  we 
have  faith  in  him,  we  know  certainly  that  God  has  chosen  us  in 
him  from  the  beginning.  If  we  do  not  receive  this,  our  faith  in  the 
catholic  church  is  null  and  void. 

How  profoundly  he  had  meditated  upon  this  theme,  is  shown 
by  some  particular  thoughts,  which  are  found  expressed  in  the 
subsequent  editions,  and  which  he  could  only  have  acquired  by 
experience. 

"  That  the  rashness  of  man  might  not  be  allowed  to  go  too  far, 
God  shows  us  by  experience  how  greatly  the  divine  judgments 
exceed  our  comprehension.  And  thus  it  often  occurs,  that  those 
who  seem  to  us  altogether  lost,  and  are  mourned  as  such,  are 
recalled  through  his  mercy  to  the  right  way,  while  those  who 
seemed  secure  fall  away  and  perish.  The  eyes  of  God  alone  can 
perceive  who  will  finally  persevere." 

He  speaks  in  the  following  paragraph,  on  the  Members  of  the 
church,  and  on  Excommunication. 

"Although  we  cannot  as  yet  recognize  with  certainty  the 
elect,  Scripture  affords  us  a  test  by  which  we  may  distinguish 
them  from  the  reprobate ;  and  Christian  love  instructs  us  to  re- 


80  calvin's  'institutes.'  [chap. v. 

gard  all  as  members  of  the  church  who  acknowledge  the  same 
God  and  the  same  Saviour,  by  the  confession  of  faith,  by  the  ex- 
ample of  their  life,  and  participation  of  the  sacraments.  And  it  is 
thus  we  are  to  regard  them,  though  we  may  discover  many  im- 
perfections in  their  conduct  (for  we  must  not  look  for  perfection  in 
this  world),  unless  they  are  found  to  foster  and  indulge  their 
vices.  There  is  reason  also  to  hope  that,  under  the  guidance  of 
God,  they  may  continually  advance  towards  perfection,  till  they 
have  overcome  every  kind  of  imperfection  and  are  admitted  into 
the  eternal  happiness  of  the  elect."  This  patient,  benevolent 
exposition  of  the  main  principle  which  he  supported  through 
his  whole  life,  is  eminently  characteristic  of  his  mind  and  feel- 
ings. Faith  in  God  and  in  Christ  was  all  that  he  required  as  the 
condition  upon  which  to  acknowledge  a  man  a  member  of  the 
church. 

"  But  those  who  do  not  agree  with  us  in  faith,  or  who  deny 
it  by  their  conduct,  vain  and  wicked  people,  intoxicated  with  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh,  all  who  are  thus  characterized  are  at  present 
no  members  of  the  church.  It  is  to  meet  such  cases  that  ex- 
communication is  intended,  in  order  that  those  who  are  but  a 
burden  to  the  church  may  be  shut  out  from  the  communion  of 
the  faithful.  And  yet  must  we  not  despair  of  them,  as  if  they 
were  utterly  rejected  by  God.  It  is  strictly  forbidden  us  to  ex- 
clude any  one  from  the  number  of  the  elect,  or  to  despair  of 
him,  as  if  he  were  already  lost ;  unless  it  be  a  matter  of  certainty 
that  he  is  condemned  by  the  Word  of  God.  Should  a  man  even 
of  set  purpose,  and  with  determined  hostility,  assail  the  truth, 
seeking  to  destroy  the  Gospel,  to  annihilate  the  name  of  God, 
and  to  resist  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  sin  which  can  never  be  forgiven, 
yet  can  we  so  rarely  be  sure  of  this,  if  it  can  ever  become 
known,  that  it  is  far  better  for  us  to  await  the  day  of  revelation 
than  to  anticipate  the  judgment  of  God.  We  surely  ought  not 
to  allow  ourselves  a  freedom  in  judging,  which  might  seem  to 
limit  (he  power  of  God,  and  to  prescribe  limits  to  his  mercy, 
which,  if  it  were  his  will,  could  change  the  most  wicked  into  the 
most  holy. 

"Rather  should  it  be  our  endeavor  to  judge  one  another  with 
childlike  simplicity,  to  think  as  well  as  possible  of  the  words 
and  works  of  others,  and  not  to  pervert  them  by  our  suspicions 
or  our  malice.  Even  when  some  are  so  wicked  that  we  cannot 
avoid  judging  them  severely,  still  we  must  commend  them  to 
the  hand   of  God,  and  hope  for  something  better   than  we  see. 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  '  institutes.'  81 

Thus  acting  towards  each  other  with  mutual  love,  we  shall  not 
rashly  intrude  into  the  secret  councils  of  God,  or  involve  ourselves 
in  the  darkness  of  error.  In  a  word,  we  must  not  condemn  the 
person,  who  is  in  God's  hand  and  power,  but  view  the  works 
of  every  one  according  to  the  divine  rule.  It  is  in  this  manner 
that  excommunications  ought  to  be  considered.  St.  Paul  thus 
gave  a  man  over  unto  Satan  for  temporal  punishment,  that  he 
might  be  saved  forever ;  and  although  it  is  not  lawful  to 
hold  communion,  either  outward  or  inward,  with  the  ex- 
communicated, yet  ought  we  by  admonition,  teaching,  gentle- 
ness, brotherly  kindness  and  prayer  to  God,  to  lead  them  back 
to  communion  ;  and  not  only  should  we  thus  treat  our  erring 
brethren,  but  even  Turks  and  Saracens,  and  other  enemies  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Far  from  us  be  the  method  which  many  have 
employed  to  bring  them  into  the  church,  denying  them,  when  in 
their  power,  fire  and  water,  and  the  other  elements,  performing 
towards  them  no  duty  of  humanity,  and  pursuing  them  with  the 
sword  !" 

Our  author  treats  in  the  next  place  of  the  communion  of  the 
saints.  The  forgiveness  of  sins,  he  says,  belongs  to  those  only 
who  have  been  engrafted  into  the  church,  seeing  that  out  of  the 
church  is  no  salvation.  Hope  and  love  accompany  faith,  but 
cannot  establish  it ;  it  is  not  love  that  justifies,  but  faith.  St. 
Paul  says  nothing  contrary  to  this  ;  faith,  hope  and  love  being 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  only  bestowed  by  the  mercy  of 
God. 

In  the  third  chapter  the  subject  of  prayer  is  treated.  The 
Lord's  Prayer  furnishes  the  principal  theme  for  observation,  and 
the  main  argument  employed  against  prayers  addressed  to  the 
saints.  Having  spoken  of  secret  prayer,  Calvin  recommends  pub- 
lic worship,  but  carried  on  in  the  language  of  the  country,  by 
singing,  and  by  the  whole  congregation, — una  voce,  eodem  ore. 

The  fourth  chapter  is  devoted  to  the  Sacraments.  A  sacra- 
ment, it  is  said,  is  an  outward  sign,  whereby  God  manifests  his 
goodness  towards  us,  in  order  to  support  our  weakness.  It  may 
also  avail  as  a  testimony  of  the  grace  of  God,  made  known  to 
us  by  means  of  an  outward  sign  ;  but  without  the  Word  of  God 
and  faith,  signs  would  be  altogether  nothing  ;  they  are,  as  it 
were,  a  visible  word.  The  Jews  had  circumcision,  to  which  were 
added  purifications  and  offerings  :  these  were  their  sacraments, 
and  Christ  has  instituted  in  their  place  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

vol.  i. — 6 


82  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

Baptism  has  a  threefold  signification.  It  is,  in  the  first  place,  a 
sensible  image  of  our  purification, — the  witness  that  all  our  sins 
have  been  done  away.     It  is  wrong  to  regard  it  as  a  sign  only. 

In  the  second  place,  baptism  is  our  renewing.  It  is  altogether 
an  error  to  suppose  that  we  are  purified  from  original  sin,  so  as  to 
become  like  Adam  before  the  fall.  Original  sin  is  the  corrup- 
tion of  our  nature  ;  children  bring  their  condemnation  with  them 
when  they  come  into  the  world,  for  the  seed  of  sin  which  is  in 
them  deserves  condemnation  in  the  sight  of  God.  Now  this 
condemnation  is  taken  away  at  our  baptism,  when  God  assures 
us  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  So  also  is  righteousness  acquired, 
so  far  as  the  people  of  God  can  attain  to  it  in  this  world  ;  that  is, 
by  imputation  only,  because  God  for  his  mere  mercy's  sake  will 
regard  them  as  righteous  and  innocent.  But  that  corruption 
which  our  nature  has  suffered  is  never  wholly  removed,  but  con- 
tinually brings  forth  new  fruit,  the  works  of  the  flesh.  This 
wickedness  is  only  suppressed  by  baptism,  when  we  hold  fast 
the  promise  through  faith  ;  we  are  baptized,  therefore,  for  the 
mortification  of  the  flesh.  This  begins  with  baptism,  but  is  only 
perfected  in  heaven. 

In  the  third  place,  we  enjoy  through  baptism  this  inestimable 
consolation,  that  we  are  not  only  planted  in  the  life  and  death  of 
Christ,  but  are  so  united  with  him,  that  we  are  partakers  of  all 
his  blessings. 

The  author  next  speaks  of  the  anabaptists,  and  it  is  remarked 
that  the  baptism  of  John  and  Christ  was  no  rebaptism,  but  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  also  speaks  of  the  laying  on  of 
hands. 

"  Since  baptism  instructs  us  of  the  promises  of  God,  and  directs 
us  to  exhibit  our  faith  before  men,  how  can  one  doubt  whether 
the  children  of  Christians  ought  to  be  baptized?  But,  in  the  first 
place,  it  is  presumptuous  to  assume  that  faith  is  impossible  at  this 
age ;  for  if  the  Lord  calls  some  of  these  little  ones,  and  admits 
them  as  heirs  into  his  kingdom,  and  as  eternal  happiness  consists 
in  the  knowledge  of  God,  why  should  He  not  give  them  the  enjoy- 
ment and  the  first  feeling  of  that  good,  which  they  are  hereafter 
to  possess  in  all  its  fulness?  "Why  should  not  God  allow  himself 
to  be  seen  '  in  a  glass  darkly,'  by  those  who  arc  hereafter  to 
behold  Him  face  to  face?" 

Such  was  the  beautiful,  the  filial  character  of  Calvin's  faith ! 
He  continues :  "  If  we  cannot  comprehend  this,  yet  let  us  recol- 
lect how  glorious  arc  all  the  works  of  God,  and  how  secret  is  his 


A.D.  1535.]  CALVIN  S    '  INSTITUTES.'  83 

counsel."  And  further:  "If  we  confess  that  God  elects  the  ves- 
sels of  mercy  even  in  their  childhood,  we  cannot  absolutely  deny 
them  faith,  the  only  way  to  life.  Holy  Scripture  sets  down  no 
particular  age  as  that  in  which  the  announcement  of  salvation 
must  be  made  ;  and  this  is  sure,  that  no  one  can  be  saved  without 
faith,  whether  he  be  grown  up  or  a  child.  Baptism  therefore 
belongs  of  right  to  children,  since  faith  is  common  to  them  with 
the  adult.  I  do  not  mean  that  faith  begins  at  the  moment  of 
birth,  but  that  all  the  elect  enter  life  through  faith,  whatever  be 
their  age.  Moreover,  God  has  invited  children  to  come  unto  him  ; 
and  when  He  says  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  theirs,  we  do 
but  fulfil  his  will  in  bringing  children  to  be  baptized.  The  cir- 
cumcision of  children  may  be  regarded  as  a  command  to  allow 
them  baptism.  That  God  is  willing  to  be  the  God  of  our  children 
he  has  promised  us  as  Christians,  and  therefore  given  us  the  name 
of  saints." 

Of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  Calvin  thus  speaks  : 
"As  we  see  the  bread  given  us  as  a  sign  of  Christ's  body,  we 
must  endeavor  to  understand  the  following  comparison.  Thus, 
as  the  bread  nourishes  the  life  of  the  body,  upholds  and  supports 
it,  so  the  body  of  Christ  is  the  food  and  support  of  our  spiritual 
life.  Since  the  wine  is  the  symbol  of  his  blood,  so  we  believe 
that  Christ  acts  spiritually  in  our  souls,  as  wine  acts  on  the 
body.  Others,  to  show  their  wisdom,  have  added  to  the  simplici- 
ty of  Scripture,  and  pretend  that  Christ  is  actually  and  really 
present.  Others  have  gone  still  further,  and  assert  that  He  is 
there  in  exactly  the  same  dimensions  as  when  he  hung  upon  the 
cross ;  and  so  forth.*  But  let  us  believe  that  the  sacrament  is 
spiritual, — a  something  whereby  God  will  feed  our  souls,  not 
our  stomachs  ;  and  let  us  seek  Christ,  not  as  to  be  seen  or  appre- 
hended by  the  bodily  senses,  but  to  be  recognized  by  his  presence 
in  the  soul." 

Having  considered  and  answered  the  arguments  of  those  who 
contend  for  the  presence  of  Christ's  natural  body  in  the  sac- 
rament, Calvin  thus  summarily  states  his  own  view  of  this 
important  subject — B  Christ  having  ascended  with  his  own 
proper  body  into  heaven,  there  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  that  is,  he  rules  in  the  might,  power,  and  glory  of  the 
Father.      But  this  kingdom  is  bounded  by  no  limits  of  space ; 


*  "  Alii  prodigiosan*  transubstantiationem  excogitarunt ;   alii  panem,  ipsum  esse 
corpus,  alii  sub  pane  esse ;  alii  signum  tantum  et  figuram  corporis  proponi." 


84  calvin's  '  institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

it  is  extended  according  to  his  will.  He  exercises  his  dominion 
in  heaven  and  on  earth.  By  this  he  shows  his  presence.  He  is 
ever  with  his  people  ;  he  lives  in  tlietn  ;  he  upholds,  strengthens, 
and  defends  them,  and  this  no  less  manifestly  than  were  he  pres- 
ent in  the  hody.  In  this  way  it  is,  that  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  are  offered  us  in  the  sacrament.  For  the  sake  of  clearness, 
I  say  that  his  body  is  truly  and  really,  but  not  naturally  offered 
us.  And  this  I  say,  to  indicate  that  it  is  not  the  actual  body 
which  is  given  us,  but  all  the  benefits  which  Christ  by  his  body 
has  procured  us.  This  is  the  presence  of  the  body  which  the  in- 
tention of  the  sacrament  requires." 

The  fifth  chapter  treats  of  Confirmation,  Penitence,  Extreme 
Unction,  and  Ecclesiastical  Orders.  Matrimony  is  considered  in 
connection  with  the  errors  introduced  by  the  Catholics,  and  their 
false  views  are  confuted. 

In  the  following  chapter  the  author  speaks  of  Christian  free- 
dom : — "  The  church  only  has  the  right  to  judge  of  doctrine  ;  and 
when,  renouncing  its  own  wisdom,  it  is  governed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  decides  by  the  rule  of  Scripture,  it  does  not  err."  Here 
follows  a  statement  of  the  first  principles  of  church  government. 
The  church,  it  is  said,  exercises  discipline  in  respect  to  its  mem- 
bers, and  the  preacher  has  a  right  to  direct  their  opinions,  but  not 
so  as  to  oppress  them.  Calvin's  views  on  church  establishments 
are  altogether  evangelical :  he  regards  them  as  standing  on  the 
same  ground  as  bishops,  and  plainly  expresses  the  sentiments 
more  fully  developed  at  a  later  period.* 

In  regard  to  the  relation  which  the  church  holds  to  the  stale, 
he  asserts,  that  the  order  and  laws  of  the  church  are  by  no 
means  dependent  upon  the  state ;  although,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  state  is  bound  to  defend  the  church.  He  acknowledges 
the  right  of  the  temporal  government  to  punish  criminals  with 
death,  according  to  God's  commandment,  and  insists  that  it  is 
the  duty  of  subjects  to  render  obedience  even  to  unworthy  and 
wicked  rulers.  The  private  individual  must  not  abuse  the  sacred 
majesty  of  government :  it  must  be  left  to  those  who  are  legally 
placed  in  situations  of  authority  to  bridle  the  license  of  the 
sovereign.  But  God  is  the  King  of  kings ;  Him  must  we  first 
obey. 

In  order  to  show  the  reader  with  what  approbation  this  work, 
which  may  in  one  sense  be  regarded   as  the  first  and  the  last  of 

*  The  author's  own  remarks  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 


a.d.  1535.]  calvin's  'institutes.'  85 

its  author,  was  received, — how  little  he  had  calculated  upon  such 
success,  how  thankfully  he  acknowledged  it,  and  what  he  himself 
thought  of  the  book,  I  quote  some  passages  out  of  the  preface  to 
the  last  edition,  published  in  1559. 

"  As  I  did  not  expect,  when  the  first  edition  of  this  work  was 
published,  that  it  would  be  received  with  the  favor  which  God, 
by  his  inestimable  mercy,  has  accorded  it,  I  gave  myself  but  little 
labor  in  its  composition,  and  was  solicitous  of  brevity.  But 
having  found  it  in  the  course  of  time  regarded  in  a  manner  which 
I  could  scarcely  have  dared  to  desire,  much  less  to  expect,  I  have 
felt  myself  bound  to  do  whatever  lies  in  my  power  for  the  satis- 
faction of  those  who  have  received  my  doctrine  with  so  much 
affection,  and  who  might  justly  accuse  me  of  ingratitude  were  I 
not  to  meet  their  wishes  as  far  as  my  poor  ability  will  permit. 
As  I  have  endeavored,  therefore,  to  do  my  duty  in  this  respect, 
not  only  when  the  book  was  printed  the  second  time,  but  in 
every  subsequent  edition,  it  has  been  much  enlarged  and  im- 
proved. That  I  was  not  myself  weary  of  the  work  which  I  had 
undertaken,  will  be  easily  understood  when  I  say,  that  never 
was  I  happier  than  while  employed  in  arranging  the  matter 
which  you  will  find  in  the  following  pages,  and  which  I  trust 
will  obtain  your  approval.  I  may  also  venture  to  add,  that  I 
have  not  been  backward  to  serve  the  church  of  God  in  this  plan 
with  all  possible  affection.  Being  brought  last  winter  to  the 
brink  of  the  grave  by  the  quartan  ague,  the  more  the  disorder 
pressed  upon  me,  the  less  did  I  spare  myself;  laboring  till  the 
work  was  completed,  which  might  prove,  after  my  death,  how 
anxious  I  was  to  satisfy  those  who  sought  to  profit  by  its  contents. 
Gladly  would  I  have  done  more,  but  enough  will  have  been  done, 
if  done  well." 

He  then  speaks  of  some  slanderous  reports,  by  which  he  wras 
represented  to  have  gone  over  to  the  papists,  and  concludes, 
"Now  the  devil  and  his  whole  band  deceive  themselves  griev- 
oushy,  if  they  expect  to  subdue  or  discourage  me  by  such  misera- 
ble falsehoods." 

In  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  he  thus  speaks  of  the 
object  which  he  had  in  view: — "  My  design  has  been  to  prepare, 
or  instruct,  those  who  wish  to  devote  themselves  to  the  study 
of  theology,  to  afford  them  an  easy  introduction  to  the  reading 
of  Scripture,  and  to  show  them  how  to  pursue  and  hold,  without 
wandering,  the  good  and  the  right  way.  And  I  think  that  I 
have  so  analyzed  the  sum  of  the  Christian  religion   in  all  its 


86  calvin's  'institutes.'  [chap.  v. 

parts,  and  have  exhibited  it  in  such  order,  that  he  who  makes 
himself  master  of  the  method  which  I  have  pursued,  will  easily 
understand  what  he  should  seek  for  in  Scripture.  By  this  means 
I  shall  also  have  avoided  the  necessity  of  entering  into  long  dis- 
putes in  my  commentaries  on  the  several  books  of  Scripture, 
the  present  work  being  a  general  guide  for  those  who  desire 
assistance  in  studying  the  subjects  here  treated,  and  enabling 
me  to  avoid  the  extravagance  and  prolixity  for  which  I  have  so 
little  love.  My  readers,  therefore,  will  be  spared  unnecessary 
fatigue  and  disgust,  as  I  hope  they  will  discover  for  themselves 
rather  than  by  my  boasting.  Above  all,  I  recommend  you  to 
the  grace  of  God,  desiring  not  to  be  forgotten  in  your  holy 
prayers,  according  to  the  fruit  which  you  may  receive  from  my 
labors."* 

It  was  necessary  to  give  these  extracts  from  the  first,  of  Calvin's 
dogmatical  writings,  since  they  afford  a  proof  of  the  remarkable 
fact,  that  this  extraordinary  man  never  varied  in  his  belief.  He 
is  perhaps  almost  the  sole  instance  of  a  man's  having  reached,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five,  the  full  development  of  his  principles, — a 
period  at  which  the  generality  of  men  only  begin  to  develop  their 
opinions, — and  of  having,  at  the  end  of  his  life,  nothing,  as  Augus- 
tine had,  to  retract. 

In  relation  to  this,  the  unusually  early  maturity  of  his  faith, 
we  may  especially  instance  his  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  some  learned  men  having  contended  that  he 
rather  inclined,  in  the  first  edition  of  the  'Institutes,'  to  the 
views  of  Luther.  The  subjoined  passages  however  show  that 
he  was  then  as  firmly  settled  in  his  opinions,  as  he  was  when  in 
1549  he  entered  into  communion  with  Zurich.  In  his  views 
respecting  election  and  free-will  be  was  no  less  consistent  than 
in  his  later  years,  except  that  in  his  first  revision  of  the  work 
these  doctrines  received  a  systematic  form.  If  even,  therefore, 
we  must  fix  the  date  of  his  theological  maturity  at  a  somewhat 
later  period,  considering  it  perhaps  as  reached  when  he  publish- 
ed his  commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  at  Strasburg, 
and  when  he  contemplated  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  in 
its  vast  depths,  and  embraced  it  in  his  system,  yet  we  must 
allow  that  his  faith  had  long  before  reached  maturity,  his  epistle 

*  How  much  care  he  had  employed  about  this  celebrated  work  since  its  first  ap- 
pearance, he  shows  in  the  following  lines: — 

"  cv>uos  animus  fuerat  tcnui  excusare  libello, 
Discendi  studio,  magnum  fecere  volumen." 


A.D.  1535.]  REFORMATION    IN    SWITZERLAND.  87 

to  Francis  exhibiting  a  degree  of  force  and  vigor  which  he 
never  afterwards  surpassed. 

Beza's  judgment  in  this  respect  is  important:  he  had  ample 
opportunity  to  observe  him  personally.  His  words  are,  "The 
doctrine  which  he  held  at  first,  he  held  to  the  last.  He  varied 
in  nothing,  a  thing  which  can  be  said  of  very  few  theologians." 
"  He  never  had  occasion,"  says  Scaliger,  "  to  recant ;  which,  con- 
sidering how  much  he  wrote,  is  a  subject  for  admiration.  I  leave 
you  to  judge  whether  he  was  not  a  great  man." 

Bossuet,  who  scrutinized  the  reformers  very  narrowly,  to  dis- 
cover their  variations,  considers  the  question  whether  Calvin 
ever  changed  his  opinions  as  Luther  did,  and  answers,  "While 
Calvin  had  a  better  regulated  mind  than  Luther,  it  is  also  to  be 
recollected  that  he  wrote  a  long  time  after  the  pretended  reform 
commenced,  so  that  the  matters  in  dispute  had  then  been  fre- 
quently considered,  and  the  doctors  having  had  more  leisure  to 
digest  them,  the  doctrine  of  Calvin  appeared  more  uniform  than 
that  of  Luther." 

According  to  my  own  opinion,  this  great  reformer  never  varied 
either  on  the  subject  of  faith  or  in  the  principles  of  discipline.  His 
views  were  not  so  clear  on  the  unity  of  the  church,  or  on  the  means 
of  establishing  it. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

REFORMATION    IN    SWITZERLAND,    PARTICULARLY    IN 
GENEVA. 

The  mild  light  of  the  Gospel  had  long  illuminated  the  moun- 
tains of  Switzerland,  when  Geneva  was  still  lying  bound  in  the 
ancient  darkness.  But  everything  was  wonderfully  prepared  for 
the  mission  of  the  great  teacher,  who  was  there  to  renew  the  con- 
test, when  a  leader  failed  in  the  south. 

Zwingli  was  born  at  Wildhausen  in  Toggenburg  in  the  year 
1484.  The  earliest  of  all  the  reformers,  he  preached  in  the  convent 
of  Einsiedeln,  in  1516,  against  pilgrimages ;  and  two  years  after 
at  Zurich,  against  Samson,  the  seller  of  indulgences.  Having 
established  the  reformation,  he  perished  October  11,  1531,  in  the 


88  REFORMATION    IN    SWITZERLAND.  [CHAP.  VI. 

battle  of  Cappel,  in  which,  like  a  Maccabee,  striving  for  the 
things  of  the  Lord,  he  fell  armed  near  the  banner  of  Zurich. 
He  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "This  is  a  misfortune;  but  what 
matters  it?    They  may  kill  the  body,  but  cannot  harm  the  soul." 

The  death  of  Zwingli*  created  a  great  void.  He  had  done 
much.  Distinguished  for  courage,  firmness,  probity,  and  the 
love  of  truth,  he  was  less  passionate  than  Luther ;  and  having, 
like  Melancthon,  a  finely  cultivated  intellect,  he  indulged  a  taste 
for  philosophy,  which  often  led  him  to  draw  conclusions  which 
the  more  cautious  Calvin  would  not  have  ventured  to  express. 
On  the  subject  of  providence  and  predestination  his  language 
is  bold  and  startling.  He  speaks  also  with  daring  freedom 
respecting  eternal  life,  on  damnation,  and  on  the  admission  of 
the  virtuous  heathen  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  One  is  some- 
times almost  led  to  suspect  that  he  did  not  clearly  understand 
every  part  of  his  own  system, — a  very  possible  consequence  of  his 
early  separation  from  the  Roman  church.  Human  merit  and 
the  power  of  conscience,  he  rejects  from  his  system,  as  Luther 
and  Calvin  rejected  them  from  theirs.  But  while  he  affords 
ample  evidence  of  the  honesty  of  his  heart  and  mind,  he  plainly 
differs  from  the  great  men  here  mentioned.  In  the  whole  of  his 
labors  connected  with  the  reformation  we  may  discover  the  intel- 
lectual tendency  of  his  opinions  ;  this  is  especially  the  case  in 
regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Calvin  on  the  con- 
trary, and  still  more  Luther,  contemplated  that  sacrament  as 
something  sublime  and  mysterious  ;  and  had  Zwingli  been  alive 
at  the  time,  the  Zurich  agreement  would  hardly,  it  is  probable, 
have  been  brought  to  a  conclusion. 

Luther  willingly  retained  music,  images,  and  the  altar  in  the 
house  of  God.  Zwingli  on  the  other  hand,  wanting  in  imagi- 
nation and  elevation  of  thought,  was  opposed  to  church-singing, 
and  rejected  images  with  greater  violence  than  Calvin,  who  only 
feared  the  Roman  catholic  corruptions.  The  experience  of 
three  hundred  years,  during  which  the  Lutheran  church  has 
now  existed,  proves  that  the  use  of  outward  means  does  not  ne- 
cessarily lead  to  superstition  and  heresy,  and  that  this  reformer 
therefore  went  too  far.  If  it  be  said  that  the  reformers  in  the 
north  began  from  within,  while  those  of  the  south  began  from 
Without,  purifying  the  church  from  visible  corruptions,  the  tes- 
timony of  history  may  be  adduced  in  contradiction  to  such  a 
statement.  Both  Zwingli  and  Calvin  contended  no  less  than 
*  Then  in  bis  47  th  year. 


A.D.  1528.]  REFORMATION    IN    BERN.  89 

Luther  against  the  fundamental  errors  of  the  catholic  church,  and 
the  reformation  in  outward  things  was  only  the  consequence  of 
an  improvement  in  principles :  the  rest  depended  upon  the  per- 
sonal character  of  the  men  themselves. 

In  the  view  which  these  two  reformers  took  of  church  govern- 
ment we  have  a  striking  illustration  of  the  different  tendency  of 
their  minds.  Zwingli  was  decidedly  republican,  and  insisted, 
like  Calvin,  upon  the  apostolic  equality  of  the  clergy,  and  their 
independence  of  inspectors  or  overseers.  Not  so  the  Lutheran 
church.  The  pure  presbyterian  form  of  church  government  may 
thank  Calvin  for  its  existence.  All  three  surrender  their  rights  to 
the  temporal  power,  without  securing  the  church  against  its  en- 
croachments. 

Zwingli  defended  in  several  discourses  sixty-seven  proposi- 
tions, in  German,  and  the  reformation  was  established  in  Zurich 
as  early  as  the  year  1523.  Its  principles  were  also  early  received 
in  Basel,  where  Capito  and  (Ecolampadius  (Kopflin  and  Haus- 
schein)  illustrated  them  in  their  sermons.  The  latter,  the  friend 
of  Zwingli,  to  whom  he  became  what  Melancthon  was  to  Luther, 
had  been  early  obliged  on  account  of  his  opinions  to  seek  pro- 
tection in  Sickingen's  fortress  of  Ebernburg.  When  Sickingen 
fell  in  his  war  against  the  elector  of  Treves,  (Ecolampadius  set- 
tled at  Basel,  where  he  was  appointed  professor,  and  where,  two 
years  later,  Farel  also  took  up  his  residence  and  became  his  coad- 
jutor. The  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  for  the  first  time 
according  to  the  simple  rite  of  the  reformed  church,  and  in  the 
very  spirit  of  Zwingli's  opinions,  in  the  year  1525.  Zwingli  pub- 
lished about  the  same  time  his  elementary  work  on  the  evangeli- 
cal faith  ('  Commentarius  de  vera  et  falsa  Religione,')  and  dedi- 
cated it  to  the  king  of  France.  The  free  expressions  which  he 
employs  in  this  work  clearly  indicate  what  the  people  of  those 
times  thought  of  Francis,  and  what  were  the  hopes  they  fostered. 
Leo  Juda  published  a  German  translation  of  the  Bible  in  the  same 
year,  and  thereby  laid  the  foundation  for  that  of  Luther.  Thus 
neither  the  resistance  of  the  catholic  cantons,  nor  the  distressing 
controversy  between  Zwingli  and  Luther,  could  stop  the  progress 
of  the  reformation. 

The  canton  of  Bern,  though  somewhat  later,  contributed 
greatly  to  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  truth.  It  was  not  till 
the  year  1528  that  a  public  disputation  was  held  in  that  city. 
Zwingli,    (Ecolampadius,    Pellicanus*   and   Haller,   Capito   and 

*  Pellicanus  (Kirschiier)  -was  appointed  professor  of  Hebrew  at  Zurich. 


90  CONFLICT    IN    SWITZERLAND.  [CHAP.  VI. 

Bucer  from  Strasburg,  and  three  hundred  and  fifty  priests,  were 
present  on  the  occasion.  The  result  was  highly  favorable  to  the 
reformation.  Similar  impressions  were  created  in  Schaffhausen 
and  Basel,  where  Grynams  and  Sebastian  Minister  were  now  as- 
sociated with  CFjColampadius. 

A  conference  was  held  at  Marburg  in  1529,  on  the  subject  of 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  and  in  the  following  year  Zwingli  laid  before 
the  emperor  Charles  an  exposition  of  the  creed  embraced  by  the 
Swiss  reformers.  It  was  the  necessary  expression  of  his  candid 
mind,  a  clear  and  intelligible  statement  of  his  faith  ;  but  it  ob- 
tained little  favor  in  Germany,  where  it  was  regarded  as  tending 
to  expose  more  clearly  than  ever  the  difference  existing  between 
the  several  parties  of  the  reformed.  In  the  year  1529  the  catholic 
cantons,  Schwyz,  Uri,  Unterwalden,  Zug  and  Lucern,  had  already 
formed  themselves  into  a  league  against  Zurich,  Bern,  Basel,  St. 
Gallen,  Miihlhausen  and  Biel.  Two  years  after  this,  the  unhappy 
conflict  took  place  at  Cappel,  in  which  Zwingli  perished ;  and 
Zurich  was  forsaken  by  its  confederates. 

The  stage  upon  which  Calvin  was  to  perform  the  important 
part  assigned  him  was  prepared  by  another  useful  and  devoted 
man.  A  missionary  had  appeared  in  the  territory  of  Bern, 
whose  bold,  daring  and  eloquent  address  had  already  rendered 
him  conspicuous  as  a  reformer.  This  was  William  de  Farel,  a 
French  nobleman,  born  of  wealthy  parents  in  Gap  in  Dauphiny, 
and  educated  first  under  Lefevre  in  Paris,  and  subsequently 
under  Briconnet  in  Meaux.  He  held  a  disputation  in  Basel,  but 
was  compelled  by  the  catholic  party  to  leave  the  city.  Eras- 
mus never  forgave  the  expressions  which  he  applied  to  him, 
and  called  him  in  return,  by  way  of  ridicule,  Phallicus,  that 
is,  probably,  the  extravagant.  Farel  preached  the  Gospel  in 
Mumpelgard,  and  became  acquainted  in  Strasburg  with  Capito 
and  Bucer. 

Bern  exercised  its  influence  at  that  time  over  a  great  portion 
of  French  Switzerland.  This  was  still  more  the  case  when  it 
succeeded  in  conquering  a  large  part  of  the  surrounding  terri- 
tory. Farel,  as  an  evangelical  missionary,  preached  with  a 
fervor  which  everywhere  excited  the  most  enthusiastic  love 
for  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  Viret  of  Orbe,  a  spiritual, 
venerable  and  learned  man,  who  had  also  studied  at  Paris,  readily 
afforded  him  his  support.  Farel,  unwearied  in  his  labors,  estab- 
lished the  reformation  at  Neuenburg.  Sufferings,  reproaches, 
dangers  did  not  repress  his  zeal.     Still  neither  of  these  reformers 


A.D.  1529.]       SKETCH    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    GENEVA.  91 

thought  of  Geneva,  and  Farel  himself  hastened  to  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont. 

I  must  now  be  allowed  to  take  a  brief  glance  at  the  history  of 
the  celebrated  city  above  alluded  to. 

Geneva  was  a  well-known  city  of  the  Allobroges  in  the  time 
of  Caesar,  who  there  erected  the  long  walls  against  the  Helvetii. 
It  continued  to  be  a  place  of  distinction  under  the  following  em- 
perors ;  and  we  learn  from  several  inscriptions  that,  having  been 
destroyed  by  fire,  it  was  rebuilt  in  the  reign  of  Aurelian,  and 
called  after  his  name.  In  the  fourth  century,  the  inhabitants 
embraced  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  city  became  an  episcopal 
see.  The  following  century  saw  it  the  capital  of  the  newly-estab- 
lished kingdom  of  Burgundy.  Chlodowic  took  it,  and  a  church 
was  erected,  in  the  place  of  one  destroyed,  dedicated  to  the  apostle 
Peter.  King  Gundebald  gave  the  people  laws.  At  that  time 
many  Arians  inhabited  the  place.*  It  was  soon  transferred  to 
the  French  monarchy,  and  when  Charles  the  Great  came  to  Ge- 
neva, he  re-established  its  ancient  privileges.  By  the  arrange- 
ment entered  into  at  Verdun,  Geneva  fell  to  the  share  of  the  Lo- 
tharingians,  and  subsequently  to  the  new  Burgundian  territory. 
Conrad  was  there  crowned  king  of  Burgundy.  At  length,  under 
Henry  the  Fowler,  it  was  united  to  the  German  empire.  Counts 
of  Geneva,  however,  existed  from  the  time  of  Charlemagne ; 
and  the  power  of  these  nobles,  residing  in  the  mountains  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  city,  continually  increased.  The  bishop 
of  the  place  also  arrogated  to  himself  more  and  more  authority ; 
and  hence  the  records  of  Geneva  exhibit  a  perpetual  struggle 
against  the  usurpation  both  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  gov- 
ernors. There  were,  however,  still  some  supports  for  freedom. 
Such  was  the  jurisdiction  in  criminal  causes,  the  choice  of  the 
bishop  by  the  people  and  the  chapter,  the  necessity  of  his  ap- 
pealing to  the  council  and  the  people  in  all  matters  of  doubt 
and  importance,  and  the  privilege  of  the  former  to  enter  into 
alliances  with  the  neighboring  states.  It  is  well  known  how 
little  authority  the  emperors  possessed  in  many  of  the  cities 
subjected  to  their  dominion ;  their  power  was  too  much  ex- 
hausted by  their  struggles  in  Italy.  Thus  with  regard  to 
Geneva,  the  bishops  had  the  chief  authority  in  the  city  itself, 
and  the  nobles   in  the  surrounding  country.     Both  lived  in   a 

*  Picot.  t.  i.  Hist,  de  Geneve.  It  is  from  this  writer,  with  occasional  references  to 
Beza  and  Drelincourt,  that  the  author  has  derived  his  materials  for  the  present 
sketch. 


92  SKETCH    OP    THE    HISTORY    OP    GENEVA.       [CHAP.  VI. 

state  of  constant  feud  with  each  other,  yet  the  city  flourished,  be- 
came rich  and  renowned. 

Frederic  Barbarossa  (1153)  resigned  the  entire  government  of 
the  place  into  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  and  supported  him  against 
the  efforts  of  the  nobles.*  The  citizens  were  grateful  for  this 
measure  ;  but  feuds  did  not  cease,  and  the  people  at  length  saw 
themselves  compelled  to  seek  the  protection  of  the  dukes  of 
Savoy.  This  gave  a  new  turn  to  the  history  of  the  city.  Three 
parties  were  now  to  be  seen  in  Geneva;  the  one  on  the  side  of 
Savoy,  the  other  supporting  the  episcopal  government,  and  the 
third  that  of  the  nobles.  Count  Amadeus  of  Savoy  assumed  to 
himself  in  great  part  the  rights  of  the  counts  of  Geneva,  and 
granted  the  citizens  many  privileges.  From  this  period  they  had 
a  council,  taxes,  and  arms.  Soon  after  four  syndics  were  ap- 
pointed, chosen  from  the  people  (1285-92).  These  syndics  were 
attended  by  twelve  counsellors,  not  yet  however  chosen  for  life. 
Savoy  lost  little  time  in  besieging  the  count  of  Geneva ;  the 
dukes  retained  possession  of  the  strong  fortress  of  the  island,  and 
the  title  of  "Vidomme"  for  230  years.  This  is  the  source  of 
those  subsequent  convulsions,  and  of  that  strife  with  Savoy  which 
existed  for  so  many  years  ;  for  although  Switzerland,  in  1308, 
was  declared  free,  the  dukes  of  Savoy  never  ceased  to  enlarge 
their  pretensions  to  authority.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century  they  possessed  the  whole  of  the  surrounding  territory, 
and  fixed  their  residence,  from  time  to  time,  at  Geneva ;  but 
when  Charles  III.  of  Savoy,  against  the  will  of  the  council,  en- 
tered the  city  with  his  troops,  and  established  his  court  there,  the 
people,  maddened  by  the  insults  to  which  they  found  themselves 
exposed,  resolved  to  adopt  the  reformation,  and  entered  into  a 
league  with  the  protestant  canton  of  Bern.  This  alliance  in- 
duced the  citizens  to  accept  the  form  of  government  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  Swiss  cantons,  and  to  constitute  a  threefold  council, 
— the  lesser  council,  the  council  of  sixty  which  was  over  this  in- 
ferior body,  and  the  council  of  two  hundred  which  was  over 
both.t 


*  Under  the  bishop  Simon  de  Oranson,  in  1211,  Geneva  took  part  in  the  crusade 
against  the  Albigenses,  and  thus  helped  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  truth,  through 
which  it  was  to  acquire  protection  and  freedom 

f  In  the  time  of  Calvin  the  supreme  power  resided  in  the  council  of  200,  which 
alone  had  the  right  to  make  or  abolish  laws.  This  was  of  great  importance  in  the 
affair  of  Servctus.  The  lesser  council  could  neither  change  imr  soften  the  decrees  of 
the  former.  In  the  present  day,  the  lesser  council  is  called  Conseii  <l'  StcU  ;  it  is  the 
administrative  and  executive  power.  The  greater  council  is  reprceentattveei  sou- 
uerein,  and  is  the  judge  in  the  Last  instance.    No  law  cau  be  established  without  its 


A.D.  1529.]       SKETCH    OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    GENEVA.  93 

We  have  here  briefly  described  the  revolutions  of  this  little 
Savoyard  state,  which,  with  a  holy  anticipation  perhaps  of  future 
greatness,  had  already  adopted,  even  under  the  bishops,  the  sig- 
nificant motto,  "  After  darkness  I  hope  for  light."  Geneva,  so 
severely  and  so  often  tried  in  the  struggle  for  political  freedom, 
was  destined  to  become  a  rallying-point  for  the  south  in  the  ap- 
proaching spiritual  revolution.  On  the  banks  of  the  lovely  lake 
Leman,  encircled  by  fruitful  vineyards,  by  alps  and  glaciers, 
crowning  the  summits  of  the  majestic  Mont  Blanc,  Geneva  would 
have  been  an  earthly  paradise,  unequalled  for  its  beauty,  had  not 
strife  and  sin  ruined  this,  as  well  as  every  other  sanctuary  of  peace 
and  love.  It  was  a  small,  almost  invisible,  point  in  the  midst  of 
great  kingdoms,  forming  a  state  numbering  not  more  than 
20,000  souls.*  And  yet  more  insignificant  was  little  Wittenberg, 
the  cradle  of  evangelical  power.  From  these  instances  the  world 
ought  to  learn,  that  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  it  is  not  the  em- 
ployment of  outward  means  or  force  which  gives  success,  but  the 
working  of  the  Spirit  which  is  almighty. 

Who  does  not  linger  with  devotion  by  the  last  resting-place  of 
Luther  and  Melancthon  in  that  church,  to  the  door  of  which  the 
bold  reformer  affixed  his  ninety-five  propositions  ?  Who  does  not 
feel  inspired  with  love  and  thankfulness  as  he  contemplates  their 
portraits,  or  enters  the  once  venerable  Augustine  monastery 
assigned  to  Luther  for  his  abode !  or  even  as  he  stands  before 
the  statue  erected  at  the  commemoration  of  the  reformation,  and 
which  affords  so  noble  a  proof  of  the  zeal  of  his  followers  in 
these  later  times  !  Who  does  not  visit  the  old  fortress  of  Wart- 
burg,  on  the  romantic  rock  so  famed  in  German  story,  where 
Luther  began  his  translation  of  the  Bible  ;  where  the  old  pulpit 
still  stands  from  which  he  so  often  bore  witness  to  the  truth  ! 
But  no  statue  has  been  erected  in  Genevat  to  the  memory  of 
Calvin  ;  nothing  exists  even  to  point  out  his  dwelling-place. 
We  seek  his  grave ;  we  look  for  some  inscription, — for  his 
name  ;  but,  according  to  his  own  strongly  expressed  desire,  no 
stone  marks  the  spot  where  his  remains  were  deposited.  It  is 
not  possible  even,  with  any  degree  of  certainty,  to  point  out  his 

consent.  The  council  of  60  or  70  exists  no  longer;  it  was  for  diplomatic  objects 
only. 

*  At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  it  contained  12,000  ;  in  1543,  13,000 ; 
in  1550,  20,000;  at  present  about  40,000. 

f  A  statue  has  been  erected  in  our  own  times  to  Rousseau  in  Geneva.  The  two 
most  famous  men  of  this  state,  Calvin  and  Rousseau,  form  a  rude  contrast,  and  point 
out  the  two  extremes  in  the  history  of  this  republic,  and  especially  of  France. 


94  SKETCH    OF    THE    HISTORY    OP    GENEVA.       [CHAP.  VI. 

grave.  He  would  not  have  his  ashes  honored ;  and  as  the  me- 
morials of  his  death  have  vanished  from  the  churchyard,  so  have 
those  of  his  life  from  the  city.* 

Through  the  influence  of  this  great  man,  of  whom  Montes- 
quieu says,  "The  Genevese  ought  to  observe  the  day  of  his  arrival 
in  their  city  as  a  festival,"  Geneva  became  a  reformed  Rome, — a 
title  which  it  readily  adopted,  but  in  a  far  other  sense  than  that 
in  which  the  name  belongs  to  the  ultramontane  capital.  In  the 
highest  part  of  the  city,  where  once  stood  a  temple  to  Apollo,  is 
still  seen  the  old  St.  Peter's  church  of  the  sixth,  and  eleventh,  cen- 
tury, as  if  Providence  had  destined  it  to  become  from  the  earliest 
times  the  antagonist  of  Rome. 

It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  the  reformation  in 
this  city,  now  that  three  hundred  years  have  passed  away,  and 
when,  after  the  long  reign  of  infidelity,  the  struggle  is  now  being 
carried  on  against  rationalism  as  it  was  formerly  against  darkness 
and  superstition.  Farel  came  to  Geneva  for  the  first  time  in  the 
year  1532 ;  he  was  then  returning  from  his  missionary  journey 
in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  where  he  had  found  the  old  evangeli- 
cal doctrines  of  the  Waldenses  exhibiting  many  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  reformed  opinions,  and  in  some  respects  almost  iden- 
tical with  them.  He  was  spiritual,  romantic,  and  a  devoted  par- 
tisan of  the  reformers. 

The  first  mention  which  occurs  of  Farel  is  in  the  narrative  of 
la  Sceur  Jeanne  de  Jussie,  a  nun  of  the  convent  of  St.  Claire. 
"Au  mois  d'Octobre  vint  a  Geneve  un  chetif  malheureux  predi- 
cant nomme  maitre  Guillaume."t  This  chetif  malheureux  how- 
ever, by  the  power  of  his  faith,  sowed  in  that  soil  a  little  seed 
which  has  grown  as  high  as  the  Alps,  and  now  shadows  many 
other  mountains  with  its  branches.  Immediately  after  his  arrival 
with  Antony  Saunier,  his  companion,  he  instructed  the  friends  of 
the  reformation  in  his  private  lodging.  The  clergy  feared  Farel, 
who  was  called  the  scourge  of  priests,  and  would  fain  have  silenced 
him.     He  was  summoned  before  the  general  vicar.     The  canons, 


*  He  was  buried,  says  Drelincourt,  a  Plein-Palais,  with  so  little  ceremony,  that 
some  strangers  who  visited  Geneva  soon  after  his  death,  being  curious  to  see  his 
sepulchre,  ami  expecting  to  behold  some  rich  monument,  were  astonished  to  find  the 
body  of  this  saint  simply  covered  with  earth,  like  the  bodies  of  the  other  faithful. 
Beza  also  speaks  of  tin's  simple  burial  of  Calvin;  but  adds,  "Cui  tamen  parentavi 
his  rersicuhs:  Cur  adeo  exiguo,  ignotoque  in  cespite  clausus — Calvinus  lateat 
rogasl  Calvinum  assidue  comitata  modestia  vivum — Hoc  tumulo  manibus condidit 
ipsa  suis.  O  te  beatum  cespitem  tanto  homine — 0  cui  invidere  cuneta  po.-sint  mar 
mora  !" 

f  In  her  work  entitled, '  Le  Commencement  de  Tlleresie  de  Geneve.' 


a  d.  1533.]  farel's  arrival  in  geneva.  95 

who  were  armed  "  to  defend  the  catholic  faith,  and  to  die  for  it," 
assailed  him  with  reproaches.  "  Come  here,  you  ugly  devil;  have 
you  been  baptized  ?  From  what  place  do  you  come  ?  What  are 
you  about,  that  you  thus  seek  to  throw  the  whole  world  into  con- 
fusion?    Who  has  given  you  authority  to  preach?" 

Farel  replied,  "  I  have  been  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  am  no  devil.  I  go 
about  to  proclaim  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  our  sins."  They 
gnashed  their  teeth  at  him  as  he  spoke ;  but  allowing  him  to  de- 
part, an  attendant  of  the  vicar-general  fired  at  him  with  a  gun, 
which  burst  without  doing  him  any  harm.  "  Your  weapons  do 
not  frighten  me,"  said  Farel ;  "  you  condemn  us  without  listen- 
ing to  what  we  have  to  say."  One  of  those  present  exclaimed, 
with  a  wrath  like  that  of  Caiaphas,  "  He  makes  a  mock  of  God. 
Do  we  need  anything  further  ?  he  deserves  death.  Off  with  him 
to  the  Rhone  !"  He  was  immediately  seized,  dragged  by  the  feet, 
and  cruelly  beaten  in  the  face,  his  persecutors  crying  out,  "  It  is 
better  that  this  Lutheran  heretic  should  perish  than  that  the  whole 
of  the  people  should  be  perverted."  When  Farel  answered, 
11  Speak  the  words  of  God,  and  not  those  of  Caiaphas  !"  the  tumult 
increased:  "Kill  the  Lutheran  dog  !"  Tae  ce  Luther,  tue  cette 
cagne  /"  while  another  exclaimed  in  his  Savoyard  dialect, 
"Tappa,  tappa  !"  that  is,  "Strike,  strike!"  This  call  was  soon 
obeyed  ;  he  was  struck  at  with  the  dagger,  but  a  counsellor  who 
stood  near  drew  him  away  and  saved  him,  notwithstanding  the 
willingness  of  the  syndic  to  deliver  him  up  to  the  murderous  per- 
secutors. By  the  care  of  his  friends  he  was  carried  across  the 
lake  to  Orbe.*  The  unlucky  issue  of  this  first  experiment  did 
not  in  anywise  discourage  Farel ;  he  immediately  despatched  the 
young  Froment  as  a  teacher  to  Geneva,  under  the  pretence  of  in- 
structing people  to  read  and  write  in  a  month.  Froment  gave 
private  lessons  ;  but  on  New  Year's-day  (1533),  when  the  hall 
was  no  longer  sufficient  to  hold  the  crowds  which  came  to  hear 
him,  he  delivered  his  first  public  discourse,  'Against  the  False 
Prophets,'  in  the  Molarsplats. 

The  fanaticism  of  the  people  generally  was  still  violently  ex- 
sited  against  the  reformers.  This  was  the  case  in  the  council 
itself;  but  at  this  juncture  the  catholic  bishop,  who  had  carried 
off  a  young  girl  in  the  season  of  Lent,  turned  the  indignation  of 

*  Peter  Olivetan  was  also  banished  because  he  spoke  in  the  pulpit  against  a 
monk  who  had  abused  the  reformation.  His  translation  of  the  Bible  was  also  pro- 
hibited. 


96  THE  REFORMERS    DRIVEN    FROM    GENEVA.      [CHAP.  VI, 

the  multitude  against  himself,  and  was  obliged  to  flee.  A  Domi- 
nican monk,  Guy  Fiirbity,  was  sent  to  Geneva,  and  with  great 
pomp,  but  little  discretion,  argued  in  favor  of  all  the  catholic  errors. 
He  pretended,  however,  to  approve  of  the  injunction  to  preach 
nothing  but  what  was  found  in  Scripture. 

Fare),  Viret,  and  Froment  now  wandered  forth  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Bernese.  In  the  mean  time  the  priests  armed  them- 
selves, and  the  reformers  followed  their  example.  The  council 
stepped  in  as  a  mediator,  and  Fiirbity  was  thrown  into  prison. 
At  length  he  was  obliged  to  consent  to  hold  a  public  disputa- 
tion with  Farel  in  the  presence  of  the  council :  he  suffered  a 
signal  defeat,  and  Farel's  triumph  gave  the  first  turn  in  favor 
of  the  reformation  (1534).  The  monk  could  not,  as  he  had 
promised,  prove  his  doctrine  from  the  Bible ;  and  he  was 
carried  to  prison  in  order  to  protect  him  from  the  rage  of  the 
people. 

In  these  stormy  times  the  bishop  prudently  but  rarely  allowed 
himself  to  be  seen.  The  two  parties  became  more  inflamed 
against  each  other  ever  day.  Bern  protected  the  reformers,  Frei- 
burg the  episcopalians ;  the  senate  long  hesitated  between  the 
two.  At  last,  the  influence  of  Bern  and  the  power  of  truth  deter- 
mined the  issue  of  the  conflict.  It  was  answered  to  the  com- 
plaints of  the  Freiburgers,  that  the  help  of  the  Bernese  could  not 
be  dispensed  with  in  the  struggle  against  the  bishop.  Thus 
political  considerations  were  always  in  the  way.  Freiburg  broke 
the  league.  The  Bernese,  who  lived  in  the  city,  were  allowed  a 
church  for  themselves,  and  the  three  preachers  had  returned  and 
were  now  in  Geneva.  Anathemas  were  pronounced  on  the  part 
of  the  bishop  and  the  pope.  The  reformers  had  a  church  in 
common  with  the  bare-footed  friars :  but  a  plot  was  invented  to 
poison  the  preachers  (1535).  It  happened  however  on  the  ap- 
pointed day,  that  Farel  ate  nothing,  and  that  Froment  dined 
out.  The  only  one  who  partook  of  the  poisoned  soup  was  Viret, 
and  he  suffered  from  the  effects  through  the  whole  of  his  follow- 
ing life.  These  proceedings,  and  the  discovery  of  a  plan  to  poi- 
son the  bread  and  wine  in  the  sacrament,  excited  the  indignation 
of  the  people.  Another  public  conference  was  attended  by  a 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  the  reformed.  Farel  was  now 
permitted  to  preach  in  the  church  of  St.  Germain  and  in  the 
Magdalene,  from  which,  at  his  entrance,  the  mass-reading  priests 
hastily  lied.  This  was  the  case  even  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter. 
Farel  opposed  the  council,  which  would  not  allow  him  to  preach 


A. D.  1536.]  GENEVA    AND    THE    DUKE    OF    SAXONY.  97 

in  all  the  churches  of  the  city.  At  length  (August  10),  he  ad- 
dressed the  council  of  two  hundred  with  such  force  and  inspiration 
on  the  great,  principles  of  the  evangelical  faith,  and  concluded  his 
discourse  with  so  impressive  a  prayer,  that  objections  and  difficul- 
ties vanished,  for  God  had  heard  his  supplication.  The  greater 
part  of  the  citizens  joined  the  reformers,  and  the  opposition  of  the 
canons  was  no  longer  of  any  avail.  Two  days  after  the  above  oc- 
currence (August  12),  the  people  were  freed  from  their  bonds,  and 
the  performance  of  mass  was  prohibited  by  law.  The  reforma- 
tion edict  of  the  27th  of  the  same  month  set  aside  the  authority 
of  the  papacy  ;  the  bishop  removed  to  Gex,  and  his  see  was  de- 
clared vacant  by  a  decree  of  the  senate :  at  the  same  time  the 
monasteries  were  put  down.  Farel  preached  to  the  nuns  of  St. 
Claire,  on  the  text,  "Mary  went  to  the  hill  country  to  Elizabeth," 
in  order  to  show  that  Christian  women  are  not  deprived  of  free- 
dom, and  that  the  blessed  Virgin  was  not  obliged  to  shut  herself 
up  to  preserve  her  purity. 

The  nuns,  with  few  exceptions,  all  left  the  city.  They  had 
borne  the  character  of  great  simplicity  :  it  created  no  slight  sur- 
prise therefore,  that  after  they  were  gone  a  subterraneous  passage 
was  discovered  leading  from  their  convent  to  a  neighboring  mon- 
astery ;  they  were  suspected  from  this  of  not  being  altogether  in- 
different to  earthly  vanities. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  the  first  step  was  taken  in  furtherance 
of  the  political  interests  of  the  reformation.  Three  syndics  were 
chosen  on  the  side  of  the  reformed.  The  city  was  fortified,  the 
suburbs  were  pulled  down,  and  the  spirit  of  patriotism  gained  new 
strength  every  day.  In  the  following  year  (1536)  the  duke  of 
Savoy  blockaded  the  city,  and  reduced  it  almost  to  a  state  of  fam- 
ine :  his  attacks  however  were  successfully  resisted.  The  citizens 
rejected  the  offer  of  aid  from  France,  and  commended  themselves 
to  the  grace  of  God.  Bern  declared  war  against  the  duke  the 
same  year,  and  brought  an  army,  in  conjunction  with  Neufchatel, 
of  7000  men  to  the  assistance  of  the  Genevese.  Bonnivard  was 
now  set  free,* — he  had  labored  so  unceasingly  in  the  cause  of 
freedom,  and  had  languished  for  six  years  in  the  dungeons- of  the 
Savoyard  castle  of  Chillon. 

Bern   had  a  political  object   in   view,  and   hoped  to   employ 

*  Bonnivard  -wrote  a  history  of  Geneva.  He  gave  bis  library  to  the  city,  and 
this  was  the  foundation  of  the  public  library  ;  he  was  also  the  founder  of  the  Gymna- 
sium. 

VOL.    I. — 7. 


98  bonnivard's  reproof  of  the  genevese.    [chap.  VI. 

Geneva  as  a  defence  against  the  power  of  Savoy.  It  was  not 
without  designs  against  its  independence.  This  became  so  ap- 
parent, that  in  the  year  1540,  Charles  V.  saw  occasion  to  protect 
Geneva  as  a  free  state  against  Bern,  as  it  was  formerly  defended 
against  Savoy. 

Thus  the  citizens  of  Geneva  struggled  successfully  for  the  free- 
dom, which,  with  the  reformation,  and  the  deep  moral  and  reli- 
gious earnestness  inspired  by  Calvin,  became  the  source  of  their 
future  greatness.  A  species  of  theocratic  feeling  was  in  the  course 
of  development, — a  trust  in  God,  which  supported  the  little  state 
in  its  severest  trials ;  and  the  freedom  which  it  thus  acquired  it 
has  never  lost. 

Farel  conducted  the  religious  services  with  as  much  simplicity 
as  possible.  Among  others,  lie  had  an  early  service  every  Sunday 
morning,  at  four  o'clock,  for  the  convenience  of  domestics.  All 
shops  were  to  be  closed  on  the  Sabbath.  The  communion  was 
administered  four  times  a  year,  and  he  himself  distributed  the 
bread.  Baptism  could  be  performed  every  day,  and  marriages, 
when  notice  had  been  given  three  times,  after  the  sermon,  and  al- 
ways publicly.  Farel  would  have  employed  some  degree  of  force 
to  extirpate  Catholicism ;  but  Bonnivard,  the  noble  champion  of 
freedom,  obtained  for  the  priests  who  sought  forbearance  and  in- 
struction the  desired  toleration. 

But  as  yet  the  reformation  was  for  the  most  part  only  out- 
ward. To  form  a  right  view  of  the  still  rude  condition  of  the 
•Genevese,  let  us  hear  Bonnivard,  who  before  the  reformation 
thus  addressed  his  turbulent  fellow-citizens: — "How  can  you 
reform  the  church,  you  who  are  yourselves  so  unreformed  ?  You 
say,  the  monks  and  priests  are  unchaste,  gamblers,  drunkards ; 
but  you  are  the  same.  You  wish  to  expel  the  popish  clergy, 
and  to  put  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  their  place.  That  in  itself 
will  be  good,  but  it  will  be  bad  for  you,  who  find  all  your  com- 
fort in  forbidden  pleasures.  The  preachers  will  establish  a  ref- 
ormation which  will  subject  vice  to  its  merited  punishment. 
You  have  hated  the  priests,  who  are  too  much  like  yourselves  : 
you  will  hate  the  preachers,  because  they  are  not  like  you.  Not 
two  years  will  have  passed  away  before  you  will  wish  they  were 
priests,  and  will  pay  them  their  wages  with  a  heavy  cudgelling. 
Men  are  willing  enough  that  justice  should  be  exercised  against 
others,  but  not  against  themselves.  Love  for  freedom  has  de- 
generated into  the  love  of  licentiousness.     Most  people  imagine 


A.D.   1536.]  CALVIN    AT    FERRARA.  99 

that  reformation  consists  altogether  in  doing  away  with  masses, 
monasteries,  and  saint-days."  Events  have  proved  that  he  pro- 
phesied correctly. 

The  rude  spirit  of  the  age  however  is  shown  in  a  still  stronger 
light,  by  the  fearful  immorality  which  then  prevailed  in  the  city, 
through  the  scandalous  licentiousness  which  had  been  introduced 
by  the  courtiers  of  the  duke  of  Savoy.*  Unblushing  luxury  and 
wickednoss  existed  in  every  quarter.  The  partisans  of  freedom 
or  their  confederates  had  conquered,  but  the  other  party  was  still 
in  being.  Many  still  adhered  to  the  bishop  ;  and  several  facts 
might  be  adduced  to  prove,  that  there  were  evil  principles  at  work 
with  which  Luther  had  never  to  contend  in  Germany. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CALVIN    IN    ITALY. HIS    INTRODUCTION     TO    THE    DUCHESS    OF 

FERRARA. — HIS    RESIDENCE    AT    HER    COURT. 

During  these  events  Calvin  was  resident  at  Basel.  His  views 
were  not  particularly  directed  to  Geneva,  but  extended  far  and 
wide.  The  news  that  freedom  of  opinion  was  becoming  every 
day  more  diffused  on  the  other  side  of  the  Alps, — that  Ferrara 
was  already  the  bright  middle  point  of  the  circle, — impelled  him, 
always  ready  to  venture  the  uttermost,  to  make  a  journey  into 
Italy,  and  to  attempt  an  experiment  in  favor  of  the  reforma- 
tion in  the  very  fortress  of  superstition.  The  New  Testament, 
translated  by  Brucioli,  had  been  published  in  1530  ;  and  this  was 
followed,  within  two  years,  by  the  other  books  of  Scripture. 
Everything  was  prepared  for  him.  The  first  two  experiments 
made  by  Calvin  to  promote  the  reformation  were  too  bold  and 
extensive,  and  bore  the  character  of  an  early  and  fiery  enthu- 
siasm. He  set  out  on  his  journey  from  Basel  most  probably  at 
the  end  of  March,  1536.f  soon  after  he  had  finished  his  Latin 

*  A  rule  established  in  respect  to  one  matter  connected  -with  the  police  of  the 
city  will  sufficiently  illustrate  this :  "  Pourque  suivant  l'ancienne  coustume,  ces  p£che- 
resses  soyeut  mieux  dirigees,  elles  pourront  eslire  et  se  constituer  une  leine,  laquelle 
prostera  serment  en  leurs  mains,  sur  les  saints  evangeles,  d'exercer  le  dit  emploi  bien 
et  fidelement  de  tout  son  pouvoir  sans  affection  ni  haine." — Thourel,  Hist,  de 
Geneve. 

\  This  journey  was  possibly  commenced  somewhat  earlier.  Beza  is  doubtful  on 
this  point.     Bayle  fixes  it  at  the  end  of  1535. 


100  CALVIN    OBLIGED    TO    LEAVE    FERRARA.       [ciIAP.  VII. 

version  of  the  first  edition  of  the  'Institutes,'  which  he  wished  to 
take  with  him  to  Italy,  where  it  could  only  he  read  in  Latin. 

Whatever  the  other  circumstances  of  his  journey,  it  seems  prob- 
able that  the  open-hearted  duchess  of  Ferrara  had  caused  an  in- 
vitation to  be  sent  him  ;  or,  if  not,  that  he  had  felt  it  as  a  neces- 
sary duty  to  undertake  the  task  of  confirming  her  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth.  It  appears  indeed  that  the  duchess,  who  now  left 
the  Lutheran  for  the  reformed  party,  was  won  over  by  Calvin's 
work  and  visit  to  embrace  his  views.  He  travelled  under  the  as- 
sumed name  of  Mr.  Charles  d'Espeville,  because  his  own  would 
have  exposed  him  to  trouble  on  his  journey  ;  and  this  name  he 
frequently  used  in  his  correspondence,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  that 
his  letters  might  not  prove  perilous  to  his  friends. 

But  the  nobler  part  of  his  plan  was  not  practicable  :  he  could  not 
remain  long  enough  at  Ferrara ;  the  inquisition  was  in  pursuit  of 
him.  He  himself  says,  that  he  had  no  sooner  seen  the  borders  of 
Italy  than  he  was  obliged  to  return.  We  have  scarcely  any  in- 
formation respecting  this  journey.  Somewhat  however  is  known 
of  Ferrara  ;  and  it  is  gratifying  to  behold  the  young  and  distin- 
guished man  enter  a  circle  of  such  noble  and  enlightened  souls. 
At  Ferrara  he  met  the  lady  de  Soubise  with  her  daughter,  Anna 
de  Parthenai,  and  her  son,  who  afterwards  became  a  conspicuous 
leader  of  the  protestants  in  France.  Calvin  carried  on  a  corres- 
pondence with  him  at  a  later  period.  He  there  also  found  Clement 
Marot,  the  poet,  who,  like  Calvin,  had  been  obliged  to  ilee  from 
France,  after  spending  some  time  with  the  queen  of  Navarre  in 
Beam.  Through  the  introduction  of  the  lady  de  Soubise,  Marot 
became  secretary  to  the  duchess  of  Ferrara.* 

We  have  no  means  of  determining  what  evangelical  teachers 
resided  at  Ferrara  when  Calvin  visited  that  city.  It  is  well 
known  however  that  the  protestant  doctrine  was  extensively 
published  through  the  pious  men  whom  the  duchess  had  invited. 
Liberal-minded  scholars  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the  university, 
as  Lelio  Calcagnini,  Lelio  Giraldi,  Marco  Flaminio.  It  is  even 
said  that  as  early  as  the  year  1528,  many  preachers  proclaimed 
the  Gospel  in  Fenara.  Calvin  therefore  found  a  field  already  pre- 
pared for  him.  But  in  the  year  1536,  the  duke  of  Ferrara  entered 
into  a  league  with  the  pope  and  the  emperor,  and  bound  himself 
by  a  secret  article  to  expel  all  the  French  residents  from  his 
court. 

*  M'Cric,  Reform,  in  Italy.     OEurrcs  de  Clem.  Marot,  t.  ii.  p.  178-84. 


a.d.  1536.]  calvin's  exile.  101 

In  consequence  of  this  proceeding,  the  duchess  saw  herself 
obliged  to  discontinue  her  intercourse  with  the  lady  de  Soubise 
and  her  family.  Marot  retreated  to  Venice ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  this  was  the  persecution  which  also  compelled  Calvin  to  leave 
Ferrara.  It  is  cause  of  regret,  that,  educated  as  he  had  been  by 
men  of  such  high  worth,  and  so  capable  as  he  had  shown  him- 
self to  be  of  noble,  intellectual  culture,  he  was  not  allowed  to  re- 
main longer  near  such  a  princess  and  her  accomplished  court, 
where  the  excellences  of  Italian  refinement  would  have  so  well  re- 
sponded to  the  feelings  of  his  own  soul.  But  he  was  early  forced 
into  practical  life,  and  obliged  to  struggle  with  the  rudest  spirits. 
He  had  drunk  deeply  of  the  olden  literature  ;  but  there  was  want- 
ing to  this  severe  reformer  of  the  south  that  tenderness  of  sensi- 
bility which  had  been  awakened  during  the  age  of  the  Medici, — 
that  refined  feeling  for  the  arts,  which,  brought  from  Greece,  had 
almost  obliterated  the  traces  of  the  middle  ages,  and  was  still  ex- 
ercising its  influence  on  the  church. 

On  his  return  from  Ferrara,  Calvin  formed  the  resolution  to 
leave  his  native  country  forever.  He  hastened  for  the  last  time 
to  Noyon,  to  greet  once  again  the  place  of  his  birth.  Having  sold 
his  paternal  estate,  and  arranged  his  affairs,  he  took  his  brother 
Antony  and  his  sister  Maria  away  with  him.  Herr  von  Norman- 
die,  a  distinguished  man  and  a  magistrate  at  Noyon,  together 
with  his  family,  accompanied  him  to  Geneva.  Several  other  per- 
sons did  the  same.  As  the  scaffold  threatened  him  wherever  he 
might  look,  in  France,  he  had  proposed  to  return  to  Basel  and 
Strasburg,  and  there  to  pass  his  time  in  quiet ;  but  the  war  had 
rendered  the  roads  between  Lothringia  and  Flanders  impassable  ; 
he  was  therefore  obliged  to  pass  through  Savoy,  and  to  hasten  by 
a  circuitous  route  to  Geneva. 

It  was  not  without  a  struggle  that  he  left  his  country  and  native 
city.  In  a  hasty  letter*  to  a  friend  he  says,  "  I  am  driven  from 
the  land  of  my  birth  :  every  step  towards  its  boundaries  costs  me 
tears.  Perhaps  it  is  not  permitted  truth  to  dwell  in  France  :  so 
may  it  be  perhaps  with  me  :  let  her  lot  be  mine."  How  divine 
providence  ordered  all  his  ways,  and  how  he  recognized  its  guid- 
ance in  after  times,  we  learn  from  his  introduction  to  the  Psalms. 
He  was  to  be  led  to  a  place  where  he  would  be  safe,  and  from 
whence  he  might  arouse  Italy  and  France,  without  being  in  the 
least  disturbed  by  those  who  in  their  hatred  would  so  willingly 
have  burnt  him  to  death. 

*  From  Fischer.     Dr.  Henry  says,  "  I  have  not  found  this  letter." 


102  calvin's  letters  to  the  [chap,  vii 

A  little  notice  from  Aosta  shows  how  he  persevered  in  scat- 
tering the  seed  of  the  reformation  as  he  journeyed  forward. 
During  his  unsettled,  wandering  life,  while  he  was  either  travel- 
ling to  Ferrara,  or  returning  towards  France,  he  lingered  for  a 
lime  in  this  delicious  region.  Muratori  states,  and  it  appears 
from  the  records  of  that  city,  that  he  preached  the  reformed 
doctrine  there  with  great  approbation,  till  the  persecution  again 
drove  him  away.  There  is  a  column  in  Aosta,  about  eight  feet 
high,  upon  which  the  words  are  inscribed,  "Hdnc  Cdlvinifuga 
er 'exit  anno  1541;  religioyiis  constantia  reparavit  anno  1741." 
No  monument  of  the  kind  seems  to  have  been  erected  before  the 
year  1541 ;  but  the  circumstances  here  spoken  of  occurred  prob- 
ably in  1535  or  153G.  Muratori  in  his  Annals  says,  "  In  this 
same  year,  finding  that  he  was  discovered,  fled  that  wolf  to  Ge- 
neva." During  the  following  April,  May,  and  June,  Calvin 
remained  in  Italy  ;  in  July  he  returned  by  Aosta  to  Noyon, 
and  thence  through  Savoy  to  Geneva,  which  he  reached  in  Au- 
gust. 

But  while  so  slight  a  record  remains  of  Calvin's  journey  to  the 
court  of  Ferrara,  ample  proof  exists  of  the  regard  entertained  for 
him  by  the  duchess  herself.  The  court  of  this  daughter  of  Louis 
XII.  was,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  a  refuge  for  the  perse- 
cuted reformers.  Beza  says  of  her:  "This  noble  lady  was  al- 
ready called  to  the  practice  of  the  purest  holiness.  Calvin  visited 
her,  confirmed  her  principles,  excited  her  zeal  for  religion  to  the 
highest  degree,  so  that  she  esteemed  him  before  all  others  as  long 
as  she  lived  (semper  unice  dilexerit),  and,  now  that  she  survives 
him,  consecrates  to  his  memory  the  fairest  proof  of  her  venera- 
tion."* 

Calvin  never  saw  her  again  after  leaving  her  court,  but  he  con- 
tinued to  correspond  with  her  by  letter :  one  of  his  last  was  ad- 
dressed to  her.  She  entertained  so  much  regard  for  him,  that  he 
never  ceased,  as  the  watchful  guardian  of  her  soul,  to  afford  her 
the  support  and  consolation  of  his  faithful  counsels.  In  a  letter 
which  she  wrote  to  him  from  Montargis,  in  1551,  she  thanks  him. 
"  for  his  useful  admonitions,  which  she  most  willingly  received  and 
cherished,  and  prayed  thai  he  might  long  be  spared:"  it  is  sub- 
scribed la  bicn  votrct 

*  The  duchess  was  worthy  of  the  highest  affection,  but  had  no  attractions  of  per- 
son. Brantome  says,  "  Encore  quelle  apparut  n'avoir  pas  l'apparence  exterieure 
taut  grandeacause  de  la  gature  de  son  corps, si  est  ce quelle  en  avoit  beaucoup  en  sa 
majeste,"    st<'  also  Bajle,  art.  Ferrare. 

f  MSS.  Gothanea. 


A.D.  1536.]  DUCHESS    OF    FERRARA.  103 

The  warnings  which  he  gave  her  were  written  with  the  most 
perfect  freedom  and  candor ;  she  seems  on  one  occasion,  and  on 
one  only,  to  have  for  a  moment  vacillated.  In  November,  1554,  he 
thus  speaks  of  her  :  "  We  have  received  sad  news  of  the  duchess  ; 
her  courage  is  overpowered  by  misusage  and  threats."  This  refers 
probably  to  the  period  when  her  husband  joined  with  the  inquisi- 
tor Oritz  in  endeavoring  to  force  her  to  recant.  She  may  have 
found  it  necessary  perhaps  to  yield  in  some  things,  but  no  mention 
is  made  of  a  recantation.  Her  heroic  disposition,  on  the  contrary, 
is  amply  proved  by  her  conduct  after  the  death  of  her  husband  in 
1559,  and  when,  on  her  return  to  France,  she  openly  professed  at 
Montargis  her  devotion  to  the  protestant  faith.  The  duke  of 
Guise,  to  whom  she  had  espoused  her  noble  daughter  Anna  d'Este, 
once  sent  a  gentleman  (Malicorne)  with  a  troop  of  horse  against 
Montargis,  and  informed  her  that  he  would  batter  down  the  castle 
if  she  did  not  expel  the  protestant  rebels.  She  sent  for  answer  : 
"  Consider  well  what  you  propose  to  do.  If  you  come,  I  will  be 
foremost  in  the  breach,  and  will  try  whether  you  have  the  bold- 
ness to  kill  the  daughter  of  a  king.  If  you  should  commit  such  a 
deed,  heaven  and  earth  will  avenge  her  death  on  you  and  on  all 
your  line,  even  on  the  very  children  in  their  cradles."  This 
haughty  answer  cooled  the  duke's  courage :  his  death  followed 
soon  after,  and  changed  the  direction  of  affairs. 

That  she  remained  constant  to  her  profession  to  the  end  of  her 
days,  appears  further  from  a  letter  addressed  to  her  by  Calvin, 
which,  with  a  note  written  shortly  before  his  death,*  I  will  cite,  to 
exhibit  more  clearly  the  character  of  this  admirable  woman,  and 
her  relation  to  Calvin. 

"  I  know,  Madame,  how  God  has  strengthened  you  during 
the  rudest  attacks,  and  how  by  his  grace  you  have  piously 
resisted  all  temptations,  not  being  ashamed  of  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Whilst  the  pride  of  his  enemies  exalted  them  above  the 
clouds,  so  much  the  more  did  you  show  yourself  a  nursing- 
mother  of  the  poor  faithful,  driven  from  their  homes,  and  knowing 
not  where  to  hide  themselves.  I  am  well  aware  that  a  princess 
who  cares  only  for  the  world  would  blush,  and  regard  it  as  an 
injury,  to  hear  her  palace  called  an  Hotel-Dieu  ;  but  I  could 
not  show  you  greater  honor  than  by  speaking  thus,  and  there- 
by recognizing  and  exalting  the  humanity  which  you  exercise 
towards  the  children  of  God,  who  have  found  a  refuge  in  your 
castle.      Often,  Madame,    have    I    thought    that    God    reserved 

*  Iusct.  Fr.  Gen.  10  Mai,  1563. 


DUCHESS    OF    FERRARA.  [cHAP.  VIII. 

these  trials  for  your  old  age,  in  order  to  pay  himself  the  arrears 
which  you  have  accumulated  by  your  timidity  in  earlier  years. 
I  speak  in  the  language  of  men  ;  for  though  you  should  do  a 
hundred  and  a  thousand  times  as  much  as  you  have  done,  you 
could  never  repay  that  which  you  owe  him,  day  by  day,  for  the 
infinite  benefits  which  He  continues  to  bestow  upon  you.  But  I 
learn  that  he  has  done  you  singular  honor,  employing  you  in  such 
duties  ;  making  you  bear  his  standard,  that  He  may  be  glorified 
in  you  ;  choosing  you  as  a  lodging  for  his  word,  which  is  the  in- 
estimable treasure  of  salvation,  and  as  a  refuge  for  the  members 
of  his  Son.  So  much  the  greater,  Madame,  ought  to  be  your  care 
to  preserve  your  mansion  pure  and  entire  for  the  future,  that  it 
may  be  dedicated  to  him." 

The  other  letter  is  as  follows  :*  "  As  the  mother-in-law  of  the 
late  M.  de  Guise,  you  have  been  so  much  the  more  beloved  and 
honored,  seeing  that  this  has  not  deterred  you  from  making  a 
right  and  pure  profession  of  Christianity,  and  that  not  with  your 
lips  only,  but  by  the  most  notable  of  deeds.  With  regard  to  my- 
self, I  protest  to  you  that  this  has  always  led  me  to  view  your 
virtues  with  so  much  the  greater  admiration." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CALVIN'S    ARRIVAL  IN  GENEVA. CALVIN,  FAREL,  AND  VIRET. 

THEIR  RELATION  TO  EACH  OTHER. 

As  Melancthon  and  others  in  Germany  willingly  placed  Luther 
above  themselves,  not  seeking  their  own  honor  but  that  of  God, 
so  was  it  with  Farel.  When  Calvin  returned  from  Italy,  and 
hastened  to  leave  France  for  Germany,  he  first  directed  his  jour- 
ney to  Geneva.  He  visited  the  preacher  Viret,  and  would  have 
continued  his  route.  Beza  says,  "God  conducted  him  hither." 
Calvin  himself  relates:  "I  intended  to  spend  only  one  night 
there,  everything  being  still  in  disorder  and  the  city  divided 
into  hostile  factions  ;  but  I  was  discovered  by  a  man  (Du  Tilly) 
who  afterwards  returned  to  popery  ;  and  Farel,  who  was  burning 
with  incredible  zeal  to  spread  the  Gospel,  employed  all  his  strength 
to  retain  me." 

*  Msc.  Fr.  de  Gea  4  Ap.  1564. 


A.D.  1536.]  CALVIN    AND    FAREL.  105 

Calvin  seems  to  have  answered  like  a  young  man,  "  that  he 
would  not  bind  himself  to  any  one  church,  but  would  endeavor 
to  be  useful  to  all,  wheresoever  he  might  happen  to  be  ;  that 
otherwise  no  time  would  be  left  him  for  his  own  improvement ; 
and  that  he  was  not  one  of  those  who  could  afford  to  be  always 
giving-,  without  ever  receiving."  But  Farel  immediately  replied, 
in  his  customary  strong  language,  "  Now  I  declare  to  you, 
in  the  name  of  the  almighty  God,  to  you  who  only  put  forth 
your  studies  as  a  pretence,  that  if  you  will  not  help  us  to 
carry  on  this  work  of  God,  the  curse  of  God  will  rest  upon  you, 
for  you  will  be  seeking  your  own  honor  rather  than  that  of 
Christ." 

As  the  voice  on  the  road  to  Damascus  thundered  through  the 
soul  of  Paul,  so  did  these  words  of  Farel  so  impress  themselves 
upon  Calvin's  conscience  that  he  never  forgot  them.  Even  in  the 
year  1557  he  said,*  "  As  I  was  kept  in  Geneva,  not  properly  by 
any  express  exhortation  or  request,  but  rather  by  the  terrible 
threatenings  of  William  Farel,  which  were  as  if  God  had  seized 
me  by  his  awful  hand  from  heaven,  so  was  I  compelled  through 
the  terror  thus  inspired  to  give  up  the  plan  of  my  journey,  but  yet 
without  pledging  myself,  for  I  was  conscious  of  my  timidity  and 
weakness,  to  undertake  any  definite  office."! 

This  was  the  decisive  moment  in  his  course ;  he  felt  it,  and 
yielded  himself  to  the  will  of  God.  Elected  preacher  and  teach- 
er* of  theology,  he  would  accept  only  the  latter  appointment ;  but 
the  following  year  he  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  wishes  of  the 
citizens,  who  chose  him  as  their  preacher.  Farel,  who  only 
sought  the  interests  of  the  Gospel,  modestly  retired  soon  after  to 
the  little  town  of  Neufchatel,  for  a  greater  than  he  had  appeared, 
— one  who  baptized  with  fire.  Calvin  was  then  twenty-seven 
years  old,  and  he  labored  in  Geneva  twenty-eight.  He  came 
poor,  and  was  appointed  to  his  office  without  at  first,  it  seems, 
receiving  any  stated  income  ;  all  he  obtained  was  some  tritling 
contribution  from  the  state ;  nor  was  it  till  the  February  of  the 
following  year  that  he  had  any  aid,  when  it  was  given  him  in 
consideration  of  his  having  as  yet  received  nothing.§ 


*  Pr.  ad  Ps. 

f  The  first  mention  made  of  Calvin  in  the  archives  of  the  republic  is  dated  Sept. 
1536,  where  he  is  named  iste  Gallus.     Senebier. 

\  Not  professor,  there  was  no  Academy  yet. 

§  Registres  du  13  Fev.  1531.  "On  doune  six  ecus  au  soleil  a  Cauvin  soit  Calvin, 
vu  qu'il  u'a  encore  gueres  recu." — Picot,  t.  hi.  p.  413. 


106  FAREL    AND    VIRET.  [CHAP.  VIII 

We  have  some  notice  of  him  in  a  letter*  written  shortly  after 
his  arrival,  and  directed  to  Daniel,  from  Lausanne,  whither  he 
had  gone  in  order  to  be  present  at  a  disputation.  He  says,  among 
other  things,  that  he  had  been  detained  some  days  by  the  breth- 
ren at  Geneva,  whither  they  had  made  him  promise  to  return  ; 
that  he  had  accompanied  a  relation  to  Basel,  and  displeased  all 
the  churches  because  he  would  nowhere  remain  fixed.  It  was 
therefore  by  the  mysterious  decree  of  God  that  he  became  perma- 
nently settled  at  Geneva,  the  situation  of  which  was  so  favorable 
to  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  He  wrote  to  Bullinger  in  1549  :t 
"If  I  cared  about  my  life,  or  my  personal  interests,  I  should 
speedily  leave  this  city  ;  but  when  I  consider  the  importance  of 
this  little  corner,  in  that  which  regards  the  extension  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  I  am  justly  full  of  anxiety  for  its  welfare  ;  and  even 
your  own  advantage  and  tranquillity  depend  in  some  measure 
upon  it." 

Calvin  was  united,  from  this  period,  in  the  closest  and  most 
intimate  friendship  with  Farel  and  Viret,  so  that  they  formed  a 
holy  triumvirate,  acting  with  one  mind  against  the  power  of 
Antichrist.  We  may  here  refer  to  a  writing  which  enables  us 
to  obtain  a  glance  at  the  reformer's  mind,  which  was  very  sus- 
ceptible of  friendship,  though  less  so  of  love.  It  stands  at  the 
beginning  of  his  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  Titus,  with 
whom  he  compares  himself.!  "As  the  condition  of  my  charge 
resembles  that  which  St.  Paul  committed  to  Titus,  it  seemed  to 
me  that  it  was  you  above  all  others  to  whom  I  ought  to 
dedicate  this  my  labor.  It  will  at  least  afford  those  of  our  own 
times,  and  perhaps  even  those  who  come  after  us,  some  indica- 
tion of  our  friendship  and  holy  communion.  There  never  have 
been,  I  think,  two  friends  who  have  lived  together  in  such 
friendship,  in  the  common  intercourse  of  the  world,  as  we  have 
in  our  ministry.  I  have  exercised  the  office  of  a  pastor  here  with 
you  two,  and  with  such  an  entire  freedom  from  any  appearance 
of  envy  that  you  and  I  appeared  but  as  one.  We  have  since 
been  separated  :  you,  Mr.  William  Farel,  have  been  called 
by  the  church  of  Neufchatcl,  which  you  delivered  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  papacy  and  conquered  for  Christ  ;  and  the 
church  of  Lausanne  holds  you,  Mr.  Pierre  Viret,   in  a   similar 

*  MSS.  Tiguv.  IT,  Oct.  1686. 

JMSS.  Genev.  Nonis  Mails  1549. 
"  Geneve,  29  Nov.  1549.     Jean  Calvin  a  deux  exrellents  scrvitures  de  Dieu,Mr. 
Quillaume  Farel,  et  Mr.  Pierre  Viret,  ses  freres  bicn  alines,  et  compaguons  en  l'ceuvre 
de  N.  !S.  salut." 


a.d.  1536.]  calvin's  character.  107 

office.  But  we  each  so  keep  the  place  committed  to  us,  that  by 
our  union  the  children  of  God  hasten  to  join  the  flock  of  Christ, 
and  to  be  united  in  his  body." 

This  intimate  friendship  continued  uninterrupted  till  death. 
While  Calvin  was  lying  in  his  last  sickness,*  Farel  wrote  to  one 
of  his  friends,  and  brought  to  recollection  the  time  when  he 
first  saw  Calvin  in  Geneva.  "  I  have  not  yet  heard  any  certain 
account  of  the  departure  of  our  brother  Calvin,  so  dear  and  so 
necessary  to  us,  but  the  reports  abroad  and  the  state  in  which 
1  left  him  afflict  me  greatly.  Oh  that  I  could  be  put  in  his 
place,  and  that  he  might  be  long  spared  to  us  in  health  and 
strength,  to  serve  the  churches  of  our  Lord,  who,  blessed  and 
praised  be  his  name  !  caused  me  to  meet  with  him  where  I 
little  expected  it,  and  retained  him  against  his  own  purpose  at 
Geneva,  to  employ  him  there  in  his  service  ;  and  ordered  other 
things  in  a  most  wonderful  manner,  and,  strange  to  say,  by  my 
instrumentality,  for  I  pressed  him  to  undertake  affairs  harder 
than  death.  And  sometimes  he  besought  me  in  the  name  of 
God  to  have  pity  on  him,  and  to  let  him  serve  God  ardently  in 
the  way  in  which  he  had  been  always  employed.  But  seeing 
that  what  I  demanded  was  according  to  the  will  of  God,  he  did 
violence  to  himself,  and  has  accomplished  more,  and  more 
rapidly,  than  any  one  else,  and  has  surpassed  not  only  others, 
but  himself  also.  Oh  how  glorious  a  course  has  he  run  !  God 
grant  that  we  may  run  as  he  has,  according  to  the  grace  given 


us 


|» 


This  Farel,  although  then  an  old  man  of  eighty,  would  not 
rest,  but  went  on  foot  from  Neufchatel  to  Geneva  in  order  to  em- 
brace his  dying  friend,  though  Calvin  had  already  written  him 
the  following  lines  :t — 

"  Farewell,  my  excellent  and  pious  brother  !  Since  it  is  the 
will  of  the  Lord  that  you  should  survive  me  in  this  world,  never 
forget  our  friendship,  the  fruits  of  which,  as  it  has  proved  a 
blessing  to  the  church  of  God,  will  remain  for  us  in  heaven. 
I  hope  you  will  not  be  troubled  on  my  account ;  my  breath  is 
weak,  and  I  continually  expect  the  last  moment.  I  am  con- 
tented that  I  live  and  die  in  Christ,  who  is  gain  to  his  people, 
both  in  life  and  death.  Still  once  more  farewell !  and  with  the 
brethren." 

*  Drelincourt,  p.  299. 

1  Ep.  344.  Gen.  2  Mai,  1564.     Ed.  Ams.  t.  9,  p.  172. 


108  CALVIN    AND    HIS    FRIENDS.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

I  have  here  described  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  his  labors, 
his  first  and  his  last  feelings.  We  thus  become  acquainted 
not  only  with  the  tenderness  of  his  disposition,  but  also  learn 
how  the  church  of  God  lay  at  the  root  of  all  his  thoughts. 
He  contemplated  his  friendships  even,  as  we  see  by  his  last  letter, 
only  from  that  point  of  view  in  which  they  could  be  regarded 
as  profitable  to  the  church.  So  also  we  see  with  what  repug- 
nance he  remained  at  Geneva,  and  how  it  was  only  in  obedience 
to  the  suggestion  of  the  divine  Spirit.  It  was  thus  that  Luther 
and  Melancthon  were  continually  urged  forward  against  their 
own  will,  and  knew  not  at  the  beginning  where  their  course 
would  end. 

The  friendship  of  Farel  and  Calvin  is  so  much  the  more 
remarkable,  as  they  were  so  little  similar  in  disposition.  An 
unlimited  confidence  united  the  one  to  the  other.  Calvin,  by 
nature  weak,  became  strong  by  conflict ;  Farel,  on  the  other 
hand,  endowed  with  much  personal  courage,  knew  no  danger 
and  was  always  in  advance.  Calvin,  a  deep  thinker  and  a 
scholar,  lived  much  within  himself ;  Farel  was  a  man  who 
delighted  in  constant  activity,  a  true  Frenchman,  lively  in  his 
speech,  with  a  good  voice,  but  not  handsome  in  his  appearance,* 
and  was  little  of  an  author.  Calvin  was  cautious ;  Farel  was 
precipitate,  always  venturing  like  a  true  reformer,  often 
without  thinking  of  consequences,  to  hasten  forward.  He  was 
therefore  constantly  in  danger  ;  wherever  he  went,  he  was 
stoned,  insulted,  and  scourged  ;  but  these  things  never  hinder- 
ed his  progress.  This  his  devoted  religious  courage  always 
rendered  him,  as  we  shall  see,  honorable  in  the  eyes  of  Calvin. 
Farel's  decision  or  objections  weighed  with  him  as  of  the 
highest  religious  importance.  He  had  even  a  good  opinion  of 
his  learning  as  a  professor,  and  considered  that,  he  would 
become  a  skilful  and  a  faithful  interpreter  of  Scripture  aided 
as  he  was  by  his  knowledge  of  Hebrew  and  his  popular  style.t 
The  judgment  which    he  formed  of   his    literary  merit  appears 

*  Farel's  appearance,  according  to  tin:  Chroniqueur  N.  9,  p.  79, — "  Petit,  de  pauvre 
apparence,  la  figure  commune,  le  front  6troit,  le  teint  pSle  et  brule  par  le  soleil,  au 
menton  deux  on  troia  toufies  (Tone  barbe  rousse  et  mal  peignee.,  Toil  de  feu,  la 
Louche  parlaute,  tel  etoit  I'homme  qui  vem.it  prendre  possession des  rueset  des places 
de  Neufdiatil."  His  •writings  are, — 1.  The  theses  delivered  at  Basel.  •_'  Le  sotn- 
maire  de  la  religion  Chret.  ::.  De  Orafc  Domin.  4.  The  Conference  with  Guy  Fur- 
bity.  .").  Epit.  au  Due  de  Lorraine,  fi.  Reponse  a  Caroli.  7.  Traite  du  Purgatoire 
8.  Le  Glaive.     9.  Traite  de  la  Ccnc.     10.   Le  Yiai  Usage  de  la  Croix. 

f  Ep.  MSS.  Gen.     To  Viret,  Aug.  9,  1546. 


A.D.  1536.]  PETER    VIRET.  109 

from  the  following  observations,  in  which  he  exercises  a  very  gen- 
tle style  of  criticism:* — "I.  have  not  written  anything  respecting 
your  work  :  this  I  have  left  altogether  to  Viret.  I  have  said  at  the 
beginning  what  is  true ;  that  is,  I  cannot  trust  to  my  own  judg- 
ment in  criticizing  your  works,  our  style  of  writing  is  so  different. 
You  know  my  reverence  for  Augustine,  yet  I  do  not  conceal 
that  his  prolixity  displeases  me :  my  own  conciseness  however 
may  be  too  stiff:  but  I  will  not  now  contend  as  to  which  is  the 
better ;  I  only  fear  that  the  great  diffuseness  may  obscure  the 
lights  which  I  otherwise  see  in  the  work.  One  expects  only  what 
is  excellent  from  you.  This  is  not  unpleasing  to  me.  I  speak 
without  flattery  :  your  book  pertains  to  that  class  of  productions  ; 
but  I  should  be  glad  if  the  style  had  been  so  managed  as  to 
entice  by  its  agreeableness,  while  it  afforded  that  instruction  in 
wisdom  which  lies  hid  under  that  covering  of  which  I  have 
spoken." 

Peter  Yiret  was  a  man  of  considerable  talent ;  he  was  born  at 
Orbe  in  1511,  and  studied  at  Paris,  where  he  became  acquainted 
with  Farel,  and  soon  appeared  in  Switzerland  as  a  reformer. 
The  deputies  of  Bern  took  him  to  Geneva  as  a  fellow-laborer ; 
he  contended  with  Farel  against  Fiirbity.  Having  subsequently 
left  Geneva,  Farel  recalled  him  in  1536,  but  he  was  soon  after 
invited  to  Lausanne,  where  he  was  invested  with  the  first  pas- 
toral appointment.  When  Calvin  in  after-times  was  recalled  to 
Geneva,  which  he  had  left,  and  could  not  obey  the  call,  he 
besought  the  council  to  put  Viret  in  his  place.  The  Bernese 
allowed  it  only  for  a  very  short  time.  He  remained  in  Lausanne 
till  1558.  Oppressed  and  accused  on  the  subject  of  discipline, 
he  came  to  Geneva,  and  there  found  rest  and  consolation.  Some 
time  after  this  he  went  to  the  south  of  France  on  account  of  his 
health.  The  church  at  Nismes  chose  him  as  its  pastor.  In  1563 
he  was  elected  to  that  of  Lyons,  where  he  also  became  president 
of  the  synod.  He  afterwards  went  to  Orthez,  the  residence  of  the 
queen  of  Navarre,  where  he  died  in  1571  as  professor  of  theology. 
He  wrote  a  good  deal  under  the  name  of  Firmianus  Chlorus ; 
among  other  things,  Commentaire  sur  VEv.  de  N.  S.  selon  St. 
Jehan :  fol.  Gen.  M.  Robert  Etienne,  1553  ;  t  but  his  works  are 
very  rarely  to  be  met  with. 

Beza  says,t  "  Calvin  greatly  delighted  in  that  intimate  friend* 

*  Ep.  MSS.  Geu.  Cal.  Sept.  1549. 
t  Senebier.  Gen.  Lit.  T.  i.  p.  156. 
%  Cal viiii  Vita,  a.  1541. 


110  THEODORE    BEZA.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

ship  which  he  enjoyed  with  Farel  and  Viret, — a  friendship  hate- 
ful to  the  evil-minded,  but  most  gratifying  to  the  good.  And  it 
was  indeed  a  fair  sight  to  contemplate  these  three  extraordinary 
men,  endowed  with  such  various  gifts,  laboring  in  perfect  union 
together  to  accomplish  this  heavenly  design.  Farel  was  conspic- 
uous through  greatness  of  soul,  and  a  certain  heroic  nature ;  no 
one  could  remain  unmoved  by  the  thunder  of  his  eloquence,  or 
listen  to  his  fervent  prayers  without  feeling  raised  towards  heaven. 
Viret,  on  the  contrary,  spoke  with  such  exquisite  sweetness,  that 
his  hearers  hung  irresistibly  on  his  lips.  But  as  to  Calvin,  as  many 
as  were  the  words  which  he  uttered,  so  many  were  the  deep  thoughts 
which  filled  the  breasts  of  his  hearers:  so  that  it  has  often  entered 
my  mind,  that  in  the  union  of  the  gifts  enjoyed  by  these  three,  we 
see  that  which  would  constitute  the  highest  perfection  of  an  evan- 
gelical teacher." 

With  the  three  friends  thus  described,  Beza  himself  became 
united  in  after-times  in  still  closer  intimacy. 

Theodore  Beza,  though  of  a  milder  and  softer  nature,  and 
different  in  his  temperament  from  Calvin,  was  one  with  him  in 
heart,  soul,  and  thought.  Beza  was  confessedly  a  truly  great 
man,  both  in  heart  and  genius ;  and  by  his  skilful  exertions, 
his  firm  faith,  his  urgent,  sometimes  severe  zeal,  and  entire  de- 
votion to  the  things  of  the  Lord,  he  gained  a  large  share  of 
influence.  As  a  man  of  feeling,  distinguished  in  his  youth  for 
poetical  ability,*  which  in  his  old  age,  changed  as  he  was,  still 
furnished  him  with  amusement;  accomplished  in  the  ways  of 
the  world,  and  possessing  an  agreeable  person,  he  was  always 
acceptable  to  the  great.  We  may  in  many  respects  call  him 
Calvin's  Melancthon.  He  took  a  more  tranquil  course  than  his 
master;  his  disposition  was  so  mild  and  loving,  that  it  was  a 
common  saying  in  Geneva,  where  Calvin's  strong  bridle  fright- 
ened men,  "It  were  better  to  be  with  Beza  in  hell  than  with  Cal- 
vin in  heaven." 

But  the  union  of  soul  which  existed  between  Calvin  and 
Beza  was  never  disturbed.  Beza  honored  his  friend  so  en- 
tirely, that  he  not  only  thought  with  him,  and  wrote  for  him, 
but  even  neglected  his  own  duties  to  work  for  him,  and  to  ex- 
plain his  doctrines,  which  he  did  with  a  force  and  an  enthu- 
siasm which  well  prove  the  unwonted  friendship  with  which  he 
clung  to  his  master,  whom  he  loved  rather  to  call  his  father.     He 

*  lie  misused  this  faculty  in  his  early  days,  and  thereby  gave  oceasioa  to  many 
bitter  remarks  on  the  part  of  his  enemies,  not  yet  forgotten. 


a.d.  1536.]  calvin's  catechism.  Ill 

attended  him  on  his  death-bed  to  the  last  moment.  Calvin  be- 
queathed him  his  store  of  manuscripts,  as  Beza  himself  informs 
us.  After  his  friend's  decease  he  wrote  an  account  of  his  life,  and 
defended  him  against  his  various  enemies  with  an  earnestness 
which  cannot  but  move  the  heart.  Thus  Calvin  enjoyed  the  rare 
felicity  of  being  confident  that  he  left  his  works  in  the  hands  of 
a  friend,  who  would  not  fail  to  uphold  the  principles  of  his  sys- 
tem ;  in  this  respect  more  fortunate,  perhaps  greater,  than  Luther, 
with  whom  in  the  end,  even  Melancthon  himself  in  some  things 
disagreed.  How  much  this  noble  union  says  for  Calvin,  and  in 
what  light  it  sets  him,  needs  no  explanation ;  were  he  known 
only  through  his  friendship  with  these  three  excellent  men  ;  were 
all  other  records  of  his  life  lost,  he  would  yet  excite  love  and  ad- 
miration. 

We  might  wonder  how  it  was  that  a  man  so  firm,  even  to  stern- 
ness, in  his  opinions,  and  inclined  to  sudden  anger,  could  enjoy 
the  happiness  of  such  a  friendship.  But  this  shows  that  in  his 
private  relations  portions  of  his  character  were  unfolded  which 
only  rarely  appeared  in  his  public  life :  among  these  were  a  soul- 
felt  trust  in,  and  inward  affection  for,  his  friends.  His  whole  con- 
duct awakens  the  highest  admiration  ;  it  was  one  continued  exer- 
cise of  resignation,  without  any  reference  to  self.  If  ever  carried 
beyond  the  bounds  of  moderation,  it  was  only  by  the  force  of  his 
keen  and  severe  conscience,  and  this  failing  was  easily  pardoned 
by  those  who  knew  him  best. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CALVIN'S     FIRST    STRUGGLE     IN     GENEVA. THE     YEAR    1537. 

ADDRESS    OF    THE    GENEVESE    CONSISTORY    TO    THE    PREACH- 
ERS   OF    ZURICH. THE    GENEVESE    PREACHERS  TO  THOSE    OF 

BERN. — CALVIN    TO    BULLINGER    AND    OTHERS. 

Calvin  was  received  in  Geneva  with  enthusiasm.  It  is  related 
that,  after  his  first  sermon,  the  people  nocked  in  crowds  to  his  resi- 
dence to  testify  their  delight,  and  he  was  obliged  to  promise  those 
who  had  not  been  able  to  hear  him  on  this  occasion  to  preach 
again  on  the  following  day. 


112  calvin's  catechism.  [chap.  IX. 

Farel's  first  experiments  in  discipline  had  proved  very  distaste- 
ful.* Among1  the  things  forbidden  were  games  of  chance,  swear- 
ing, slandering,  dancing,  the  singing  of  idle  songs,  and  masque- 
rading. The  people  were  commanded  to  attend  church,  to  keep 
Sunday  strict,  and  to  be  at  home  by  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening. 
These  laws  were  proclaimed  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and 
with  threats  of  severe  punishment  against  transgressors.  Four 
preachers  and  two  deacons  were  appointed,  and  a  school  was 
established.  Antony  Saunier  was  chosen  director.  Farel  pub- 
lished a  short  formulary  of  belief,  consisting  of  twenty-one  articles, 
and  was  probably  associated  in  this  with  Calvin,  who  published  a 
catechism  in  French. 

Calvin  subsequently  translated  this  first  Genevese  catechism 
into  Latin,  with  the  title,  '  Catechismus,  sive  Christians  relig. 
institutio.  communibus  renatae  nuper  in  evangelio  Genevensis  ec- 
clesite  suffrages  recepta,  et  vulgari  quidem  prius  idiomate  nunc 
vero  Latine  etiam,  quo  de  fidei  illius  synceritate  passim  aliis  etiam 
ecclesiis  constet,  in  lucem  edita.  Joanne  Calvino  autore.'  At 
the  end  are  the  words,  '  Basileae  in  officina  Roberti  Winter.  An. 
1538,  mense  martio.' 

Calvin  names  himself  as  the  author  of  this  catechism.  It  was 
therefore,  probably,  entirely  his  own  work  in  its  original  form.  But 
this  catechism,  and  Farel's  confession  exscripta  e  catechismo,  as  it 
is  called,  are  now  found  printed  together.  And  further,  this  first 
catechism,  which  is  among  the  rarest  of  books,  is  not  the  little, 
well-known  Geneva  catechism  for  children,  in  question  and  an- 
swer ;  but  a  larger  catechism,  intended  for  grown  people,  not  in 
question  and  answer  ;  or  rather,  it  is  an  analysis  of  the  'Institutes,' 
in  which  he  passes  from  the  law  to  faith,  and  not  as  in  the  cate- 
chism from  faith  to  the  law. 

The  author  relates  in  his  preface  to  the  work,  that  he  was  la- 
boring to  induce  the  senate  to  acknowledge  this  catechism  pub- 
licly, seeing  that  it  would  be  effecting  a  great  good  by  thus  setting 
an  example  to  the  people  in  so  holy  a  thing.  "  And  we  easily 
succeeded  in  obtaining  that  the  citizens  should  be  summoned  by 
tens,  and  swear  to  adopt  this  confession ;  which  was  also  done 
with  much  satisfaction." 

This  occurrence  may  be  regarded  as  the  foundation  of  that 
theocratic  government  afterwards  established.  The  citizens 
swore  as  citizens  to  observe  the  confession ;  and  he  who  opposed, 

*  Ruchat.  T.  v.  p.  588. 


A.D.  1536.]  REFORMATION    IN    GENEVA.  113 

or  did  aught  against  it,  subjected  himself  to  both  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical punishment.  Those  who  would  not  adopt  the  confession, 
lost  their  rights  as  citizens. 

The  first  public  acknowledgment  of  the  reformation  took  place 
before  the  arrival  of  Calvin,  in  the  August  of  1535;  and  again. 
^tvith  more  solemnity,  but  still  before  Calvin  arrived,  on  the  21si 
',  of  May,  153G.  The  second  was  made  in  the  presence  of  the 
council  of  two  hundred,  on  the  20th  of  November,  the  same  year, 
and  when  the  above-mentioned  confession,  drawn  up  by  Farel 
and  Calvin,  was  laid  before  it.  A  third  took  place  before  the 
council  and  the  assembled  people,  July  20,*  1537.  This,  of 
which  Calvin  and  Beza  speak,  seems  to  have  been  the  most 
solemn  of  all.  In  the  month  of  September  Calvin  was  present 
at  a  disputation  against  the  Roman  catholics  in  Lausanne  ;  but 
at  which  he  did  not,  as  Senebier  says,  preside.  Farel,  on  the 
other  hand,  shone  forth  conspicuously  by  his  eloquence,  and  the 
presence  of  the  Spirit.  Calvin  spoke  very  little,  but  he  argued  so 
convincingly  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper  that  a  friar  was 
converted  on  the  spot.  Hereupon  the  Bernese  introduced  the 
reformation  into  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  against  the  will  of  Charles  V. 
Calvin  wrote  to  his  friend  Daniel  on  his  way  to  Lausanne,  Oct.  3 
(13),  1536.t 

"  The  idols  and  altars  have  already  disappeared  from  many 
places,  and  the  rest,  I  hope,  will  soon  be   purified.     God   grant 

that  idolatry  may  be  banished  from  all  hearts  ! If  however 

those  slow  bellies,  who  are  so  pleasantly  prattling  with  you  in 
the  shade,  had  as  much  courage  as  they  have  good  words,  they 
would  hasten  to  us  in  order  to  share  the  labor.  Incredibly  small 
is  the  number  of  preachers  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  churches 
which  need  them.  Glad  however  should  I  be,  were  there  some 
men  among  those  with  you,  who,  seeing  the  necessity  of  the  church, 
would  come  to  our  help." 

At  the  beginning  of  November,  1536,  Calvin  received  a  letter 
from  Bucer,  who  even  at  that  early  period,  it  seems,  discovered 
his  lofty  spirit  and  his  fitness  to  restore  union.  The  confidence, 
clearness,  and  moderation  with  which  he  entered  upon  his  work 
had  established  his  reputation  in  France  and  Germany.  Thus 
Bucer  speaks  of  him  as  occupying  a  very  exalted  position,  ex- 
presses his  willingness  to  be  taught  by  him,  and  invites  him  in 
the  most  respectful  manner  to  a  mutual  good  understanding  on 

*  According  to  Senebier,  it  took  place  on  the  29th.  f  MSS.  Tig 

VOL.  I. — 8 


114  calvin's  difficulties  at  geneva.       [chap.  ix. 

certain  points  in  dispute.  The  Lord  had  chosen  him,  he  adds, 
to  be  of  great  service  to  the  church.  To  him  it  would  belong  to 
establish  union.  He  then  particularly  cites  the  example  of  Paul, 
who  regarded  holy  conversation  as  a  blessed  means  of  promoting 
concord,  and  journeyed  over  sea  and  land  to  unite  the  churches 
by  a  frequent  coming  together.  It  was  left  to  Calvin  to  appoint 
the  place  where  a  meeting  might  be  held, — Basel,  Bern,  or,  if  it 
must  be,  Geneva, — "that  we  may  examine  the  truths  in  which 
you  indeed  stand  fast,  but  of  which  we,  on  account  of  our  weak- 
ness, require  some  explanation."  This  shows  what  his  position 
already  was.* 

Thus  passed  away  that  eventful,  never-to-be-forgotten  year 
(1536).  We  now  enter  upon  that  which  followed.  Its  com- 
mencement was  propitious ;  but  Calvin,  speaking  of  this  period 
of  his  life,  says,  "  Scarcely  were  four  months  passed,  when  we 
were  assailed,  on  the  one  side  by  the  Anabaptists,  and  on  the 
other  by  a  scandalous  apostate,  who,  secretly  supported  by  some 
persons  of  rank,  gave  us  much  to  do.  Thus  one  thing  followed 
upon  another,  and  drove  us  to  and  fro.  Weak  and  timid,  as  I 
must  confess  myself  to  be,  I  saw  the  necessity  of  learning,  at  the 
very  beginning,  to  struggle  with  these  stormy  waves ;  and  al- 
though I  did  not  yield  to  them,  yet  I  did  not  possess  sufficient 
magnanimity  to  feel  otherwise  than  rejoiced,  more  even  than  I 
ought  to  have  felt,  when  the  popular  tempest  drove  me  from  the 
city." 

Beza  thus  expresses  himself  respecting  that  period : — "  The  devil 
strove  to  destroy  this  church  at  the  beginning,  but  God  would  not 
let  him.  Calvin,  with  some  of  his  associates,  conquered  the  ana- 
baptists in  a  public  disputation.  This  was  done  by  the  power  of 
the  divine  Word,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  council  and  the  people ; 
so  that  the  anabaptists  dare  no  longer  show  themselves  in  the  city." 
(18  March,  1537.) 

The  other  conflict  in  which  he  was  engaged  affected  him  more 
deeply.  He  found  himself  obliged,  with  Farel  and  Viret,  to  de- 
fend his  orthodoxy  against  a  certain  person  named  Caroli.  This 
dangerous,  vain  and  insufferable  man  would  have  been  unworthy 
of  notice,  had  he  not  had  the  honor  to  excite  Calvin's  indigna- 
tion. Full  of  hypocrisy,  he  read  and  preached  the  Word  of  God 
in  Paris,  where  Farel  was  well  acquainted  with  his  immoral  life. 
Being  accused  as  a  heretic,  because  that  he  in  some  measure 

*  Ep.  3.  EA  Lau9.  Ed.  Ains.  T.  ix.  p.  2. 


A. D.  1536.]         DISTURBANCES    CREATED    BY    CAROLI.  115 

taught  the  truth,  he  recanted  and  persecuted  the  reformed.  Again 
attaching  himself  to  the  protestants  he  came  to  Geneva.  In  Basel 
he  played  the  part  of  a  hypocrite.  At  Neufchatel  he  married ; 
and  being  subsequently  appointed  pastor  at  Lausanne,  he  used 
his  utmost  efforts  to  weaken  the  influence  of  Farel  and  Yiret, 
who  accused  him  of  immorality.  In  his  sermons  he  upheld  the 
doctrine  of  purgatory,  and  the  practice  of  praying  for  the  dead. 
His  principles  were  treated  with  contempt,  and  he  soon  after  ac- 
cused the  whole  of  the  Genevese  preachers  of  Arianisrn.  The 
affair  was  at  first  confined  to  Lausanne  ;  but  the  accused  de- 
sired a  synod  to  be  held  in  Bern.  This  was  done,  and  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  three  letters  on  the  subject  will  be  read  with 
interest. 

"The  Genevese  Consistory  to  the  preachers  at  Zurich  : — 

"  Grace  and  peace  from  God  the  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  Honored  brethren  !  when  Caroli  first  excited  those  dis- 
turbances the  noise  of  which  has  shaken  all  the  churches  of  Ger- 
many, we  hoped,  as  they  arose  from  mere  slanderous  reports,  that 
they  would  soon  be  suppressed.  But  to  prevent  the  slightest  doubt 
from  remaining  in  the  minds  of  pious  men,  we  spared  no  pains  to 
prove  our  innocence  to  the  neighboring  churches.  Grynaeus  has 
no  doubt  sent  you,  as  we  requested  him,  a  copy  of  our  confession : 
from  this  it  will  easily  be  seen  with  how  little  justice  we  have  been 
attacked  by  this  foolish  man." 

Here  follows  a  defence  against  the  suspicions  of  those  who 
might  still  doubt  the  orthodoxy  of  the  accused  party.  After  which 
they  proceed : — 

"Nothing  now  remained  for  him  but  to  object  to  us  that  we 
stubbornly  suppressed  the  words  Trinity  and  Person,  and  repre- 
sented the  divine  nature  of  Christ  as  derived  from  himself.  Had 
he  obtained  what  he  wished,  the  object  which  we  have  sought 
through  our  ministry  would  have  been  absolutely  ruined.  .  .  .  We 
have  accordingly  prepared  a  new  form  of  confession." 

Now  follows  their  defence  on  the  subject  of  the  Logos  : — "  He 
has  heaped  abuse  on  all  who  will  not  allow  that  we  can  help  the 
dead  by  our  prayers.  .  .  .  Viret,  his  colleague,  to  prevent  the 
kindling  of  a  fire,  proceeded  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  in  the 
presence  of  the  congregation.  Calvin,  whom  we  sent  thither, 
was  accused  of  Arianisrn.  He  replied  that  his  works*  would 
afford  ample  proof  of  his  innocency  in  this  respect.     But  not  to 

*  Alluding  probably  to  the  '  Institutes.' 


116  CALVIN    ACCUSED    OF    HERESY.  [CHAP.  IX. 

leave  Farel,  he  quoted  the  passage  in  the  catechism  of  our  church, 
in  which  the  divine  glory  and  existence  of  the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost  are  distinctly  spoken  of.'* 

The  Genevese  preachers  next  addressed  themselves  to  those  of 
Bern,  and  related  how  Caroli  had  accused  Viret  at  Lausanne,  first 
of  creating  disorder,  and  then  of  Arianism.  "  We  have  sent  Cal- 
vin to  Viret,"  they  continue.  {i  He  recited  our  confession  to  Caroli. 
When  the  latter  answered,  that  we  were  not  to  employ  ourselves 
in  making  new  creeds,  but  to  subscribe  the  three  ancient  symbols, 
Calvin  rejoined,  that  we  had  sworn  to  the  belief  in  one  God,  and 
not  to  the  creed  of  Athanasius,  whose  symbol  a  true  church  would 
never  have  admitted.  Your  deputies  therefore  had  no  resource 
but  to  summon  a  synod." 

Calvin,  in  a  letter  to  Bullinger,  or  some  other  preacher  at  Bern, 
mentions  how  Caroli  had  accused  them  all  before  the  synod  in 
that  city.  "  But,"  he  adds,  "  I  immediately  rose,  and  showed  the 
confession  taken  from  our  catechism,  which  is  appended  to  the 
letters  addressed  to  you.  This  however  did  not  quiet  him,  and 
he  insisted  that  we  should  continue  suspected  till  we  signed  the 
Athanasian  symbol.  I  answered,  that  I  was  not  accustomed  to 
take  anything  for  the  Word  of  God  till  I  had  properly  considered 
it.  See  now  the  rage  of  this  beast !  '  Such  an  answer,'  he  ex- 
claimed with  tragical  gesticulation,  '  is  unworthy  of  a  Christian.' 
A  general  synod  is  proposed,  in  which  the  affair  maybe  examined. 
There  is  great  danger  for  the  church  when  simple  men  see  us 
thus  quarrelling  with  each  other.  Something  worse  will  follow. 
People  are  already  beginning  to  designate  as  deceivers  those  who 
refuse  to  pray  for  the  dead.  The  heathen  already  cry,  that  we 
ought  at  least  to  be  agreed  among  ourselves,  before  we  expect  to 
convert  others  to  our  faith.  Thus  you  see  what  maybe  expected 
from  such  examples.  The  stain  which  this  devilish  deceiver  has 
stamped  upon  us  must  assuredly  be  no  longer  suffered  to  remain, 
unless  the  very  Gospel  itself  is  to  be  exposed  to  the  mockery  of  the 
impious.  Be  careful  therefore  to  assemble  all  the  French  preach- 
ers of  your  district  in  a  synod,  if  possible  before  Easter,  for  much 
has  still  to  be  said." 

The  synod  referred  to  was  held  with  great  solemnity.  There 
were  present  a  hundred  ministers  from  Bern,  twenty  from  Neuf- 
chatel,  and  three  from  Geneva.  Those  from  Geneva  preserved 
a  deep  silence  till  the  end  of  the  proceedings.  Then  Calvin 
came  forward,  gave  an  admirable  account  of  his  faith,  and  accused 


A.D.  1537.]  CALVIN    AND    CAROLI.  117 

Caroli,  adding",  "  that  he  had  no  more  faith  than  a  dog-  or  a  pig." 
The  Genevese  drew  up  their  confession  without  employing  either 
the  word  Trinity  or  Person. 

Caroli,  on  the  other  hand,  insisted  upon  subscription  to  the  three 
ancient  creeds, — the  Nicene,  the  Athanasian  and  the  Apostles'. 
This  the  Genevese  refused  to  give,  that  they  might  not  by  their 
example  introduce  a  species  of  tyranny  into  the  church,  which 
would  expose  every  one  to  the  charge  of  heresy  who  would  not 
speak  in  the  words  or  according  to  the  will  of  another.  Hereupon 
the  synod  pronounced  the  confession  of  the  Genevese  on  the  Trin- 
ity and  Sacraments  "  sancta  et  catholica." 

Caroli  was  deprived  of  his  office  and  banished.  He  made  his 
peace  with  the  evangelical  party  while  Calvin  was  in  Strasburg, 
but  again  separated  himself.  At  last  he  went  to  Rome,  and  was 
re-admitted  into  the  catholic  church.  He  accused  Farel  as  the 
chief  of  all  heretics. 

The  slander  propagated  by  Caroli  excited  distrust  both  in  Switz- 
erland and  Germany  against  the  orthodoxy  of  the  Genevese :  it 
was  desired  that  the  words  Trinity  and  Person  should  be  used. 
An  arrangement  being  entered  into,  it  was  resolved  that  these 
words  should  be  employed  as  a  test.  A  Confessio  Fidei  de  JEu~ 
charistia  was  introduced  at  the  same  time.  The  people  of  Stras- 
burg were  called  upon  to  sign  this  formulary,  in  order  to  prove 
that  they  did  not  differ  from  the  Swiss.  The  local  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  Sacrament  is  altogether  denied,  and  a  spiritual  par- 
ticipation of  the  mystery  is  represented  as  the  bond  of  our  union 
with  the  Lord.  But  the  Strasburgers  rejected  the  idea  of  the  sac- 
rament being  a  mere  commemoration,  and  spoke  of  a  true  com- 
munion of  the  blood  and  of  the  body. 

In  consequence  of  this  struggle,  the  Genevese  became  more 
closely  united  with  the  people  of  Zurich,  who  approved  of  their 
confession  and  testified  their  general  esteem.  Calvin  subse- 
quently grew  more  and  more  attached  to  the  reformers  of  Zurich. 
In  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Grynseus  from  Bern  we  see  plainly 
how  much  this  first  attack  upon  his  orthodoxy  disturbed  him. 
His  adversary  accused  him  of  Arianism  and  Sabellianism.  He 
here  says,  "  Conscriptus  aliquanto  ante  catechismus  a  nobis  fue- 
rat,  Gallice  etiam  editus,  ubi  sub  una  essentia  nos  Patrerw,  Filium 
et  Spiiitum  Sanctum  complecti  testabamur.  But  that  this 
man,  a  mere  nothing,  could  by  his  vanity  induce  so  many 
churches  to  think  ill  of  my  doctrine,  distresses  me  greatly.  I  am 
so  much   the  more  annoyed,  because  it  never  entered  my  mind 


118  WRITINGS    OF    CALVIN.  [CHAP.  IX. 

thai  I  should  have  to  defend  myself  against  such  a  charge."  He 
thus  angrily  speaks  of  Caroli : — "  That  sycophant  has  been  ban- 
ished by  a  decree  of  the  senate,  and  we  are  acquitted,  not  only  of 
all  guilt,  but  of  all  suspicion.  Although  therefore  he  is  now  boast- 
ing of  the  name  of  Athanasius,  as  if  he  were  suffering  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  truth,  the  world  is  in  no  danger  of  finding  an  Athana- 
sius in  this  church-robber,  whoremonger  and  murderer,  dripping 
as  he  is  with  the  blood  of  many  saints.  While  I  thus  describe 
him,  I  say  nothing  but  what  I  should  be  ready  to  prove  through 
competent  witnesses." 

Calvin's  friends  Grynaeus  and  Capito  endeavored  to  tranquillize 
him.  The  former  feared  that  the  church,  still  weak,  would  suffer 
much  from  these  agitations,  and  that  distrust  would  gain  ground 
among  the  brethren.  Farel,  as  we  learn  from  the  following  pas- 
sage out  of  a  letter  from  Calvin  to  Viret,  for  once  lost  his  courage 
in  this  vexatious  state  of  affairs  : — "  We  must  have  you  in  Geneva 
again,  if  we  lose  Farel,  who  is  more  depressed  than  I  had  expect- 
ed to  see  a  man  of  his  iron  breast." 

As  an  apology  for  his  creed,  Calvin  issued  the  Genevese  cate- 
chism in  Latin,  that  all  might  be  able  to  read  it.  He  complains 
greatly  in  the  preface  that  the  slanders  against  him  had  gained 
such  ground  : — i:  Nulla  innocentia,  nulla  simplicitas  a  suspicionibus 
satis  tuta."  His  whole  existence  was  troubled  through  an  attack 
on  the  belief  which  was  the  very  ground  of  his  life.  That  he  did 
not  altogether  and  simply  appeal  to  his  Institutes,  may  be  attrib- 
uted to  his  friendship  for  Farel  and  Viret,  who  were  accused  with 
him.  He  would  refer  to  that  only  which  they  had  published  in 
common,  and  was  noble  enough  wholly  to  forget  in  this  respect 
his  own  work. 

To  this  period  (1537)  may  be  ascribed  the  publication  of  two 
of  his  smaller  writings ;  the  one,  '  De  Fugienda  Idolatria,'  dedi- 
cated to  Nicol.  du  Chemin,  and  in  which  he  confutes  the  erro- 
neous notion  of  the  faithful  in  France,  "  that  one  might  embrace 
the  truth,  and  yet  hear  the  mass."  The  other,  dedicated  to 
Gerard  Rufus  (Roux),  '  De  Papisticis  Sacerdotiis  vel  administran- 
dis  vel  abjiciendis,' in  which  he  shows  how  the  Christian  ought  to 
view  the  catholic  benefices  and  places  of  profit  and  honor,  and 
speaks  with  impressive  energy  on  the  duties  of  the  clergy.  In  the 
first  place,  he  forcibly  shows  how  deserving  of  punishment  it  is, 
when  Christians  act  with  hypocrisy  in  order  to  escape  persecution, 
and  think  that  they  may  be  present  at  the  mass,  if  they  only  in 
their  own  minds  are  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  of 


A.D.  1537.]  CALVIN    ON    CONFORMITY.  119 

the  falsehood  of  the  popish  doctrine.  The  curse  of  God,  he  proves, 
rests  upon  the  despiser  of  conscience.  Let  us  hear  his  own 
words: — "We  shall  do  well  to  remember  what  St.  Augustine 
relates  in  some  place  of  St.  Cyprian.  After  he  had  been  con- 
demned to  be  beheaded,  he  was  offered  his  life  on  condition  that 
he  would  merely  by  word  renounce  the  religion  for  which  he 
was  about  to  die.  Not  only  was  this  offer  made  him,  but  when 
he  arrived  at  the  place  of  punishment,  he  was  affectionately  en- 
treated by  the  governor  to  consider,  whether  he  would  not  rather 
save  his  life  than  suffer  the  punishment  of  a  rash  and  useless  ob- 
stinacy. To  this  he  briefly  answered,  'That  in  a  matter  so 
solemn  there  was  no  room  for  deliberation.'  When  the  instru- 
ments of  death  were  placed  before  his  eyes,  and  the  executioner 
with  a  wicked  and  ferocious  side-glance  drew  him  forward,  and 
when  the  edge  of  the  sword  was  on  his  neck,  and  the  raging 
crowds  were  pouring  forth  their  horrible  maledictions,  if  any  one 
should  feel  astonished  that  the  holy  martyr  did  not  at  that  mo- 
ment lose  his  courage,  but  offered  himself  joyfully  to  the  torment, 
let  him  recollect  that  his  resolution  was  thus  nobly  sustained  to 
the  last  by  the  one  single  thought,  that  his  heart  was  fixed  on  the 
commandment  of  God,  who  now  called  him  to  make  profession  of 
his  religion." 

"  Evil  springs  from  disobedience,  as  soon  as  we  allow  our- 
selves to  calculate  and  reason  on  God's  commands.  It  is  not  law- 
ful to  subject  to  our  deliberations  that  which  has  been  once  de- 
creed." 

"  Outward  confession  is  necessary,  because  Christ  has  said, '  He 
who  is  ashamed  of  me,  of  him  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed.' 
True  piety  engenders  a  true  confession  ;  and  we  must  not  regard 
that  which  St.  Paul  says  as  a  light  and  trivial  thing, — '  With  the 
heart  man  believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation.' 

"  Many  believe  in  him,  but  confess  him  not.  O  damnable  de- 
sire of  honor  ! 

"  Not  every  one  is  called  to  come  forward  in  defence  of  the 
truth,  but  chiefly  the  teachers  of  the  Word.  How  the  Christian 
ought  to  conduct  himself  when  placed  among  unbelievers, — when 
he  ought  to  speak  of  his  convictions, — this  must  be  determined  by 
the  voice  of  his  own  conscience.  No  fixed  rules  can  be  given  for 
his  conduct  in  such  circumstances." 

But  he  shows  what  kind  of  foresight  ought  to  be  used.  Among 
other  things  he  proves,   that  the  holy  Scriptures  forbid  praying 


120  CALVIN    ON    CONFORMITY.  [cHAP.  IX. 

to  pictures  and  images ;  that  the  distinction  of  meats  is  not  ne- 
cessary ;  that  the  law  of  celibacy  is  tyrannical.  He  allows  how- 
ever that  there  are  indifferent  ceremonies,  to  be  present  at  which 
does  no  harm  to  the  conscience.  But  he  particularly  excepts 
from  such,  anointing  with  oil,  giving  money  for  absolution,  the 
ii -i ■  of  consecrated  water,  and  the  mass,  which  breaks  the 
cross  of  Christ  and  destroys  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
He  adds :  "The  people  with  whom  you  mingle,  and  whose  reli- 
gion you  pretend  to  be  assisting  in  these  things,  believe  that  all 
they  do  is  holy.  When  the  juggling  priest  has,  step  by  step,  ap- 
proached the  altar,  he  begins  to  perform  his  part,  moving  some- 
times on  one  side  and  sometimes  on  another.  Sometimes  he 
remains  motionless ;  then  he  mutters  his  magic  syllables,  by 
which  he  seems  to  expect  to  draw  Christ  down  from  heaven,  and 

wishes  others  to  think  the  same After  having  descended 

from  heaven,  he  offers  to  effect  the  reconciliation  of  God  and 
man,  as  if  he  were  substituted  in  the  place  of  Christ,  dead  and 
buried." 

"We  may  visit  churches  ;  we  may  view  and  admire  pictures. 
But  he  who  is  present  at  the  mass,  commits  a  sin,  even  though 
his  heart  be  rightly  disposed  ;  for  he  deceives,  and  meek  Chris- 
tians are  led  astray  and  injured  by  the  example.  Our  enemies 
regard  a  man's  being  present  at  the  mass  as  a  sign  of  his  con- 
version. Eleazer,  the  Maccabee,  and  the  mother  of  the  seven 
sons,  afford  us  an  example  of  the  hatred  we  should  have  to  hypoc- 
risy. Commandments,  both  great  and  small,  must  be  obeyed. 
Naaman,  who  received  permission  from  Elisha  to  go  with  his 
king  into  the  idol's  temple,  can  no  more  be  brought  forward  as 
an  excuse  than  Jeremiah  or  Paul.  The  wish  to  avoid  vexation 
and  disturbance  is  also  an  untenable  excuse.  Nothing  super- 
stitious must  be  suffered  in  families.  A  man  must  not  marry  a 
woman  who  thinks  or  believes  olherwise.  I  do  not  say  that  you 
must  go  forth  to  the  world,  but  you  mustguard  yourselves  against 
sin  ;  this  is  not  my  sentiment  merely  ;  all  the  holy  martyrs  have 
proved  it.  Do  not  say,  'You  may  indeed  speak  thus,  for  you  are 
safe:  were  you  in  our  place  you  would  speak  very  differently.' 
God  truly  would  give  me  courage  to  brave  all  dangers  were  I 
with  you." 

As  in  the  first  work  he  sharpens  the  conscience,  borne  down 
by  catholic  influences,  against  hypocrisy,  so  in  the  second  he 
lays  hold  of  those  passions  which  exercised  most  power  in  the 
catholic  church,  that  is,  avarice  and  ambition.     Thus  these  twc 


A.D.   1539.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    CLERGY.  121 

little  writings  were  calculated  in  the  highest  degree  at  that  pe- 
riod to  operate  against  the  catholic,  and  to  edify  the  evangelical, 
church. 

"  J.  Calvin  to  his  former  friend,  and  now  bishop.  Every  one 
calls  you  happy,  and  the  very  favorite  of  fortune,  because  of  the 
new  dignity  of  bishop  to  which  you  have  attained.  For,  besides 
the  honorable  title  of  Prelate,  the  majesty  of  which  is  everywhere 
revered,  it  brings  you  a  large  revenue  in  tithes,  from  which  you 
will  be  able  not  only  to  support  your  establishment,  but  also  to 
minister  to  the  poverty  of  many,  and  to  exercise  liberality  towards 
others.  You  see  what  men  say  of  you,  and  perhaps  will  lead 
you  to  believe.  But,  for  myself,  when  I  reflect  how  little  all  these 
things  are  worth,  for  which  men  commonly  entertain  so  high  a 
regard,  I  greatly  pity  your  calamity.  We  must  first  consider 
what  he  who  established  bishops  says  respecting  them.*  The 
Lord  designates  those  whom  he  appoints  pastors  of  his  church, 
as  guards  and  watchmen  of  his  people.  They  are  called  the  salt 
of  the  earth,  the  light  of  the  world,  angels  or  messengers  of  God, 
fellow- workers  with  God  ;  preaching  is  called  the  virtue  and  the 
power  of  God." 

As  a  contrast  to  that  of  wicked  pastors,  he  draws  the  picture  of 
a  faithful  shepherd  :  "  It  is  the  duty  of  pastors  to  teach.  If  you 
have  either  to  admonish  or  to  exhort,  it  is  your  duty  to  proceed 
with  simple  affection,  with  a  gentleness  and  solicitude  like  that 
which  the  peasant  shows  towards  his  flocks." 

Neither  catholic  nor  protestant  minister  can  read  without  fear 
and  trembling  that  which  he  addresses  so  powerfully  to  the  con- 
science, on  the  punishment  of  the  wicked  pastor :  "  Answer  me 
conscientiously,  you  superintendent  and  chief  in  the  affairs  of  re- 
ligion, with  what  fidelity  do  you  labor  to  restore  that  which  is 
decayed  ?" 

On  the  position  of  the  papacy  he  thus  speaks  :  "  It  is  not  un- 
like a  city,  assailed  within  by  a  dreadful  pestilence,  and  without 
by  besieging  enemies,  so  that  it  cannot  fail  to  perish  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other.  Sound  the  trumpet,  you  who  are  appointed  to  keep 
watch  :  arm  yourselves,  hasten,  without  delay.  What  look  you 
for?  On  what  are  you  dreaming?  Is  it  a  time  to  sleep?  Un- 
happy man,  you  who  are  about  to  give  an  account  for  the  death 
of  so  many  sufferers  before  the  Lord  !  You  so  many  times  a 
homicide !    so  many   times  guilty  of    blood,  of   which   there  is 

*  Every  word  'which  follows  is  calculated  to  inspire  ministers  with  reverence  for 
their  office. 


122  CALVIN    ON    THE    CLERGY.  [CHAP.  IX. 

not  a  drop  which  the  Lord  will  not  demand  at  your  hands !  Yet 
horribly  as  you  are  stricken   with  his    lightning-,    you  are  not 

moved,  you  feel  no  fear ! But  I  even  treat  you  mildly  when 

I  call  you  homicide  and  traitor Behold  a  more  awful  crime; 

one  more  dreadful  than  all  others  ;  it  is,  that  you  every  day  sell 
and  crucify  as  far  as  in  you  lies  the  Son  of  God  afresh/' 

Against  the  great  revenues  received,  he  says,  "  It  is  an  evident 
trickery  and  cheat ;  it  is  the  boldest  fraud  that  can  be  practised, 
that  he  who  has  never  put  his  hand  to  the  work  should  come  and 
demand  payment.  Far  from  their  churches,  all  the  year,  them- 
selves, they  have  their  vicars,  who  are  petty  robbers  and  brigands, 
through  whom  they  co'mmit  every  kind  of  rapine,  extortion,  pil- 
lage, and  robbery.  And  yet  your  great  brigand  has  not  been 
ashamed  to  introduce  that  humble  saying  of  St.  Jerome  into  his 
tyrannical  decrees,  namely,  that  the  goods  of  the  church  are  the 
goods  of  the  poor,  from  which  he  who  takes  more  than  is  neces- 
sary to  the  support  of  an  honest  and  sober  life  is  guilty  of  robbing 
the  poor." 

From  this  excellent  little  work  we  see  how  justly  Beza,  in  his 
preface  to  the  '  Opuscules'  addressed  to  the  duchess  of  Ferrara, 
said  of  Calvin  :  "  Among  other  excellent  virtues  which  the  Lord 
had  so  liberally  bestowed  on  this  holy  man,  he  had  these  two 
remarkable  ones  in  disputation  ;  that  is,  a  marvellous  dexterity  of 
mind  to  seize  at  once  upon  the  knotty  point  in  the  argument,  and 
ability  to  develop  it.  Together  with  this,  he  had  such  integrity 
of  conscience,  that,  avoiding  all  vain  and  sophistical  subtleties  and 
all  ambitious  display,  he  never  sought  anything  else  but  the 
simple  and  pure  truth." 

The  situation  of  the  reformed  church  in  Fiance  during  this 
year  was  disturbed  in  the  highest  degree.  Hence  the  works  above 
described  were  well  calculated  to  prepare  the  faithful  for  martyr- 
dom, and  to  warn  them  against  falling  away.  France  persevered 
in  its  system  of  persecution,  partly  from  fanaticism  and  partly 
from  policy,  in  order  to  justify  her  orthodoxy.  In  a  letter  to  the 
preachers  of  Basel,  dated  from  Geneva,  Nov.  13,  1537,  it  is  said  : 
"We  would  announce  to  you  in  few  words  why  we  send  these 
messengers.  Our  enemies  have  very  lately  made  our  poor  breth- 
ren at  Nismes  feel  their  rage  when  we  least  expected  it.  The 
senate  of  Strasburg  and  Basel  had  commended  to  Count  Wil- 
liam's care  all  those  who  were  languishing  in  the  prisons  of 
France  on  account  of  their  faith.  It  is  said  that  the  king  listened 
to  his  representations.     We  were  comforting  ourselves  with  the 


a.d.  1537.]  calvin's  letter  to  bucer.  123 

hope  thus  excited,  when  the  fire  broke  out  horribly  again.  Two 
believers  were  condemned  to  the  flames.  The  messenger  will 
give  you  an  account  of  their  death,  if  he  can  make  himself  under- 
stood in  Latin.  Many  have  been  cast  into  prison,  and  their  lives 
are  in  imminent  danger,  if  the  rage  of  the  persecution  be  not  re- 
pressed, drunken  as  they  are  with  the  blood  of  the  two  who  have 
perished.  Both  the  martyrs  exhibited  a  noble  constancy  to  the 
last  breath,  tried  as  their  fortitude  was  with  the  most  refined 
cruelty.  But  are  we  sure  that  the  rest  will  manifest  similar  reso- 
lution ?  Let  us  then  afford  help,  that  the  weak  may  not  be  over- 
whelmed with  alarm.  Let  us  take  care  not  to  regard  the  blood 
of  the  saints  as  of  little  worth, — that  blood  which  is   precious  in 

the  sight  of  God Your  friends  have  concluded  a  treaty  with 

the  king,  the  main  subject  of  which  is  religion  ;  namely,  that 
those  who  profess  the  same  doctrines  as  you  hold  shall  not  be 
be  persecuted  any  more.  If  such  be  the  case,  let  us  avail  our- 
selves of  this  circumstance  to  help  our  brethren,  which  Christ  not 
only  distinctly  commands  us  to  do,  but  admonishes  us  that  to  for- 
sake the  brethren  is  to  forsake  him." 

We  learn  from  a  letter  to  Bucer,  dated  January  12,  1538,  that 
Calvin,  amid  all  these  movements  in  Geneva,  sometimes  employed 
his  attention  on  Germany.  In  the  writing  referred  to,  he  com- 
plains of  Luther's  untractable  nature,  guards  himself  against  his 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  speaks  with  a  force  and  de- 
cision which  plainly  indicate  that  he  never  inclined  to  the  opin- 
ions of  the  Lutherans.  It  is  not  clear  what  gave  rise  to  this 
complaint,  since  Luther,  in  1537,  directed  a  friendly  address  to 
the  burgomaster  of  Basel,  and  a  very  conciliatory  one  also,  dated 
Dec.  1st  of  the  same  year,  to  the  reformed  Swiss  cantons,  congrat- 
ulating them  on  the  concord  to  which  they  had  attained. 

But  the  Swiss  were  not  satisfied,  for  he  had  said  nothing  re- 
specting the  confession  of  Basel.  Bucer  himself  had  also 
incurred  especial  blame :  it  was  known  that  he  had  secretly 
written  to  Luther,  that  he  had  spoken  in  his  letter  most  un- 
warrantably of  the  Swiss,  had  flattered  Luther,  and  stated  that 
they  now  believed  Christ  to  be  substantially  present  in  the 
eucharist.  This  occasioned  much  agitation,  and  Bucer  lost 
more  and  more  the  respect  which  he  had  enjoyed.  Calvin's 
object  in  writing  was  to  warn  him  on  this  matter.  We  discover 
his  affection  for  him  in  all  that  he  says, — his  free,  open  nature, 
and  his  desire  for  union,  as  far  as  it  could  be  obtained  by  lawful 
means.     He  complains,  in   the  first  instance,  of  his  own  surfer- 


124  calvin's  letter  to  bucer.  [chap.  IX. 

ings,  and  pours  his  sorrows  into  Bucer's  bosom.  The  disturbances 
at  Geneva  were  commenced.  He  thus  alludes  to  some  formulary 
of  faith,  probably  that  of  the  Genevese,  and  observes,  "  If  Luther 
will  embrace  us  with  this  as  brothers,  nothing  will  afford  me 
greater  joy ;  but  he  is  not  the  only  one  to  be  considered  in  the 
church.  We  are  cruel  and  barbarous,  if  we  have  no  regard  to  the 
thousands  who  will  be  horribly  scandalized  under  the  pretence  of 
union.  I  can  scarcely  tell  what  I  ought  to  think  of  Luther,  en- 
tertaining as  I  do  the  highest  opinion  of  his  piety."  He  accuses 
him  of  obstinacy  and  ambition.     "  Nothing  will  be  holy  so  long 

as  this  mad  love  of  strife  excites  us The  past  must  all  be 

forgotten.  . . .  He  sins  not  only  by  his  boasting  and  insulting  lan- 
guage, but  through  ignorance  and  the  grossest  trifling.  For 
what  a  string  of  absurdities  he  cast  about  our  necks  at  the  begin- 
ning, when  he  said,  'The  bread  is  the  body  itself!'  If  he  meant 
that  the  body  of  Christ  was  inclosed  in  the  bread,  he  fell,  I  think, 
into  the  most  contemptible  of  errors.  What  do  other  supporters 
of  this  notion  say  ?  Do  they  not  employ  expressions  worse  even 
than  those  of  Marcion?  If  therefore  you  can  exercise  any  influ- 
ence on  Martin,  either  through  favor  or  respect,  endeavor  that  he 
may  subject  to  Christ,  not  to  himself,  those  with  whom  he  has 
carried  on  this  most  unhappy  strife,  and  that  he  subject  him- 
self to  the  truth." 

Calvin  now  passes  on  to  Bucer,  and  freely  accuses  him  of  self- 
flattery  and  indulgence  in  the  efforts  which  lie  made  to  apologize 
for  Zwingli  and  himself, — expressions  referring  principally  to  the 
letter  mentioned  above,  which  Bucer  had  addressed  to  Luther : — 
"  Would  that  on  my  head  all  this  distress  and  misery  had  fallen, 
— upon  me  who  feel  convinced  in  my  conscience  that  I  have 
never  been  forsaken  by  God,  from  the  first  moment  when  I  learned 
to  understand  his  word,  so  as  to  mistake  the  right  use  of  the 
sacrament,  and  what  is  meant  by  partaking  of  the  body  of 
Christ !" 

Bucer  was  obliged  to  undertake  the  difficult  character  of  a  me- 
diator : — "  If  you  wish  the  Swiss  to  lay  down  their  pertinacity, 
desire  the  Lutherans  in  turn  to  cease  from  bearing  themselves 
so  imperiously."  At  the  end  of  the  letter  the  writer  again  speaks 
of  Bucer  with  great  friendship  and  earnestness,  and  in  the  name 
of  his  associates :  "If  you  persevere  in  pressing  the  points  now 
in  controversy,  without  oifending  any  one,  you  do  so,  we  be- 
lieve, with  the  best  of  motives,  but  this  mode  of  proceeding  be- 
comes   every  day  more  dangerous."      Calvin,   so  great  a  lover 


A.D.  1538.]  TROUBLES    IN    GENEVA.  125 

of  truth,  excellently  adds,  "  I  know  well  what  you  will  answer  ; 
but  '  Si  vis  omnibus  Christum  plausibilem  facere,  tibi  non  esse 
fabricandum  Evangelium  ;'  and  you  seem  just  now  to  be  endeav- 
oring to  establish  a  middle  kingdom  between  the  pope  and 
Christ/' 

In  the  course  of  the  letter  he  complains  greatly  that  Megander 
(Grossmann)  had  been  sent  to  Bern.  Bucer  had  of  his  own  will 
altered  a  catechism  issued  by  Grossmann  and  used  in  the  country. 
In  the  article  on  the  eucharist,  the  expression  used  by  Zwingli 
was  suppressed,  and  the  latter  was  carried  so  far  before  the  senate 
that  the  clergy  were  required  to  subscribe  the  new  primer.  Gross- 
mann hesitated,  and  was  banished.  Calvin  showed  Bucer  the 
folly  of  this  experiment,  and  charged  him  with  the  chief  part  of 
the  guilt:— "How  do  our  enemies  triumph  and  laugh,  as  they  see 
us  thus  wounding  each  other  in  the  presence  of  powerful  and 
armed  opponents  !" 

But  a  storm  was  rising,  to  which  Calvin  himself  was  obliged  to 
yield,  and  at  the  approach  of  which  he  had  the  first  opportunity 
of  exhibiting  that  steadfastness  of  will  which  had  its  origin  in  the 
power  of  conviction  and  in  the  force  of  conscience. 

The  first  excitement  of  the  reformation  seemed  allayed,  and 
the  little  state  was  longing  for  tranquillity  ;  but  the  impulse  which 
had  been  given  to  men's  minds  rendered  storms  unavoidable.* 
It  was  only  a  lip-revolution  which  had  as  yet  taken  place,  and 
it  required  twenty  years  longer  for  the  council  and  the  better  part 
of  the  citizens  to  obtain  the  victory  over  moral  corruption  and 
violence.!  The  ministers  of  religion  desired  a  complete  moral 
reformation.  In  order  to  meet  their  wishes,  the  council  forbade 
many  amusements  which  tended  to  corrupt  the  manners  of  the 
people.  A  tire-woman  even  was  arrested  in  open  day,  because  she 
had  adorned  a  bride  with  too  much  luxury:  the  mother 
and  two  bridesmaids  were  subjected  to  the  same  punishment, 
for  having  assisted  in  dressing  the  bride  and  accompanying 
her  to  church.}  A  card-player  was  put  in  the  pillory,  with 
his  pack  of  cards  about  his  neck.  A  man  guilty  of  adulte- 
ry was  sentenced  to  banishment  for  a  year,  and  paraded 
through  the  city  with  the  woman  who  shared  his  guilt  by  the 
common  hangman.     But  the  notions  of  morality  were  far  from 

*  Picot,  t.  i.  p.  361,  and  Ruchat. 

f  Regiatres  de  la  Repub.  4  Sept.  1536.  Some  of  the  principal  citizens  and  many 
others  protested  before  the  council,  not  being  able  to  endure  the  ministers  who  re- 
proved their  vices,  vouloir  vivre  en  liberte. 

\  Registres  de  la  Repub.  20  Mai,  1537. 


126  DUTY    OF    MINISTERS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

\ 

being-  as  yet  so  strict  or  well-defined  as  in  our  times.  Thus  we 
find  that  in  the  year  1537,  a  member  of  the  syndic  was  found 
guilty  of  gross  licentiousness,  and  in  consequence  was  put  into 
prison  for  three  days,  degraded  from  his  office,  and  obliged  to  per- 
form penance  before  the  great  council.  But  notwithstanding  this, 
he  was  chosen  six  times  successively  to  the  office  from  which  he 
had  been  expelled.  Such  was  the  influence  exercised  by  the 
libertine  party,  which,  joining  with  the  independents,  contended 
so  obstinately  against  the  authority  of  the  government. 

This  state  of  things  continued  till  the  year  1538.  The  move- 
ment party  regarded  the  preachers  with  mistrust,  who  threatened 
the  openly  profligate  with  excommunication,  and  severely  re- 
proved their  vices.  Calvin  sought  the  salvation  of  all  these  souls. 
A  beautiful  passage  on  the  responsibility  of  ministers  occurs  in 
the  preface  to  the  catechism,  published  at  Basel,  1538,  and  which 
may  be  cited  in  reference  to  this  subject: — "Oar  duty  is  not 
finished  when  we  have  preached  the  Word.  We  must  employ  a 
far  greater  degree  of  diligence  in  the  care  of  those  whose  blood 
will  be  required  at  our  hands,  if  they  perish  through  our  negli- 
gence. When  we  were  full  of  anxiety  in  this  respect,  it  tortured 
and  consumed  us  as  often  as  we  had  celebrated  the  Lord's 
Supper ;  for  while  we  were  doubtful  of  the  faith  of  many,  or 
rather  had  the  greatest  reason  to  suspect  it,  yet  all  came  without 
distinction  to  the  sacrament ;  but  doing  so,  they  swallowed  the 
wrath  of  God,  instead  of  becoming  partakers  of  the  sacrament 
of  life.  We  had  no  peace  therefore  in  our  conscience,  till  all 
who  came  to  the  sacrament  solemnly  confessed  the  name  of 
Jesus." 

In  consequence  of  this,  the  council  and  people  were  called  upon 
to  swear  to  the  confession.  Calvin  then  replies  to  the  accusation 
brought  against  him  in  Geneva,  that  the  people  were  compelled 
to  bind  themselves  by  oath  to  observe  the  law,  both  by  ex- 
amples drawn  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  also  by  the  doctrine 
of  the  catechism,  which  states,  that,  as  we  cannot  perfectly  obey 
the  law,  we  must  cast  ourselves  upon  the  mercy  of  Christ. 
He  protests  against  all  suspicion,  and  still  further  against  too 
much  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  ceremonies,  exhorting  all  parties 
to  peace  and  union  :* — "Little  will  be  said  about  ceremonies  be- 
fore the  judgment-seat  of  God." 

A  party  was  now  expressly  formed  in  opposition  to  so  stern  a 

*  "  Doctrinal  potius  et  animorutn  urgeamus  unitatem  quani  ccremoniis  conforman- 
dis  inorosius  iosistamus." 


A.D.  1538.]  OPPOSITION    TO   CALVIN.  127 

judge  of  morals.  It  demanded  of  the  council  the  expulsion  of 
this  new  popedom.  To  promote  this  object,  the  council  was  to 
adopt  the  resolutions  of  the  Lausanne  synod  ;  according  to  which 
certain  festivals,  as  Christmas  and  Ascension  day,  were  to  be  ob- 
served. For  the  same  purpose,  unleavened  bread  was  to  be  used 
in  the  sacrament,  and  the  baptismal  font  was  still  to  be  preserved. 
The  preachers,  who  it  was  well  known  would  not  regard  these 
things  with  complacency,  suspecting  a  plot,  prepared  themselves 
accordingly  for  the  most  determined  resistance. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  Calvin  and  Farel  may  have  gone 
too  far  in  these  proceedings  ;  while  a  third  preacher,  named 
Conrad,  whom  they  had  brought  from  Paris,  thundered  vehe- 
mently against  the  unrighteousness  of  the  decision.  Calvin  and 
Farel  had  mixed  themselves  up  with  the  management  of  public 
affairs,  according  to  their  notions  of  a  theocracy.*  They  were 
forbidden  to  do  so.  Courad  despised  this  prohibition.  He  was 
commanded  to  cease  from  preaching.  Old  and  blind,  but  full 
of  youthful  zeal,  he  desired  to  be  led  to  the  pulpit,  and,  preach- 
ing as  before,  he  compared  the  republic  of  Geneva  to  that  of  the 
frogs,  and  the  Genevese  themselves  to  rats  who  live  hidden  in 
the  straw.  He  was  apprehended  and  cast  into  prison,  nor  was 
the  influence  of  his  friends  sufficient  to  procure  his  release. 
Calvin  and  Farel  appeared  before  the  council,  and  complained 
of  the  imprisonment  of  their  associate.  The  council,  on  the  other 
hand,  delivered  to  them  a  paper,  in  which  the  Bernese  expressed 
their  desire  that  the  Genevese  would  unite  with  them  in  the  mat- 
ter of  ceremonies. 

Passions  of  every  kind  were  excited,  and  the  first  families  lived 
in  continual  strife  and  discord.  The  city  was  torn  by  parties,  and 
no  conciliator}7  representations  proved  of  any  avail.  Calvin,  Farel 
and  Courad  therefore,  moved  by  conscientious  zeal,  took  the  bold 
determination  to  declare  that  they  could  not  administer  the  Sup- 
per of  the  Lord  in  a  city  which  would  not  submit  itself  to  any 
kind  of  church  discipline. 

The  people  were  universally  enraged.  It  was  Easter  Sunday. 
Farel  preached  in  St.  Jervais,  and  Calvin  at  the  same  time  in 
St.  Peter's,  but  without  administering  the  sacrament.  They 
stated  their  reasons,  and  defied  the  rage  of  their  opponents,  who 
had  themselves  drawn  the  sword.  This  resolution  to  refuse  the  sac- 
rament is  important  as  a  matter  of  ecclesiastical  history,  because 

*  Regist.  1538,  11  et  12  de  Mars. 


128  THE    PREACHERS    BANISHED.  [CHAP.    IX. 

it  is  the  origin  of  that  whole  system  of  chinch  discipline  which 
Calvin  subsequently  introduced,  and  which  simply  rests  on  the 
fundamental  principle  of  excluding  from  church  communion,  or 
the  Lord's  Supper,  those  who,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the 
church,  appear  unworthy  of  the  privilege  ;  and  secondly,  on  that 
of  not  allowing  the  church  to  be  subject  to  the  state  in  matters 
which  concern  religion.  It  must  be  allowed  that  the  church  at 
that  period  was  far  from  being  perfectly  represented. 

The  syndics  took  advantage  of  these  various  circumstances  to 
assemble  the  people,  and,  aided  by  their  dependents,  to  expel  our 
three  faithful  witnesses  to  the  truth  from  the  city.  They  were 
condemned  to  leave  Geneva  in  three  days.  When  the  decision 
of  the  people  was  made  known  to  Calvin,  he  replied  with  dignity, 
"Had  I  been  the  servant  of  man  I  should  have  received  but 
poor  wages ;  but  happy  for  me  it  is  that  I  am  the  servant  of 
Him  whon  ever  fails  to  give  his  servants  that  which  He  has  prom- 
ised them."  In  the  protocol  issued  April  23,  the  words  which 
Farel  and  Calvin  uttered  on  this  occasion  are  recorded  to  their 
honor :  they  must  have  inspired  even  their  enemies  with  a 
feeling  of  respect : — "  Let  it  be :  it  is  better  to  serve  God  than 
man  !" 

Calvin  and  Farel  had  now  to  encounter  many  sufferings.  They 
went  first  to  Bern.  There  they  made  their  complaint  against 
Geneva.  Messengers  were  sent  to  that  city,  but  they  accom- 
plished nothing.  A  synod  was  at  that  time  assembled  at  Zurich, 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  in  what  manner  the  answer  ought 
to  be  framed  to  Luther's  kind  but  indefinite  address.  Calvin 
and  Farel  described  the  perilous  condition  of  Geneva,  and  be- 
sought the  friendly  interference  and  protection  of  the  synod. 
They  had  been  repulsed  with  scorn.  Not  denying  that  they 
might  have  spoken  with  too  much  severity,  or  refusing  to  be 
advised,  Calvin  still  insisted  that  it  was  not  for  the  sake  of  a 
mere  form  that  he  had  opposed  himself  to  the  council.  They 
would  consent  to  the  use  of  fonts*  and  unleavened  bread,  but  the 
Bernese  must  break  the  bread  as  they  did.  Festival  days  also 
might  be  allowed,  on  condition  that  the  people  were  permitted 
to  work  after  the  service  of  the  church.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
some  species  of  discipline  must  be  introduced.  There  should 
be  a  division  of  parishes  ;  excommunication  was  to  be  permitted, 
and  was  to  be  executed  by  elders  chosen   by  the  council,  in  con- 

*  The  fonts  were  restored  in  May,  that  the  baptismal  service  might  be  performed 
according  to  the  rules  established  by  the  synod  of  Lausanne. 


A.D.  1538.J  THE    EXILED    PREACHERS    AT    BERN.  129 

junction  with  the  clergy  ;  order  was  to  be  observed  in  the  ad- 
mission of  preachers,  and  the  council  was  to  refrain  from  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  which  pertained  to  the  clergy  only ;  the  more 
frequent  administration  of  the  sacrament,  at  least  every  month  ; 
and  the  singing  of  the  psalms,  were  also  among  the  things  pro- 
posed. 

By  the  advice  of  Bullinger  a  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Gene- 
vese,  and  they  were  requested  to  have  patience  with  the  preachers. 
It  was  anxiously  desired  that  Bern  might  give  additional  force 
to  this  appeal  by  its  messengers  :  the  exiled  preachers  therefore 
were  obliged  to  return  to  that  city,  where  new  trials  awaited 
them.  A  letter  to  Bullinger,  dated  June,  1538,  relates  how  Conz 
led  them  into  the  presence  of  Sebastian  Meyer  and  Erasmus 
Ritter,  and  with  such  excessive  passion  that  Farel  remembered 
and  spoke  of  it  in  his  latest  years.  Efforts  were  made  to  compel 
them  to  give  up  the  proposed  articles  ;  but  messengers  should 
be  sent  with  them  to  Geneva.  It  is  said  :  "  According  to  a 
second  resolution  we  were  to  be  immediately  conducted  to  the 
city.  Erasmus  and  Viret  were  allowed  to  be  our  companions. 
We  were  about  a  mile  from  the  city  when  a  messenger  in  great 
haste  met  us,  and  stated  that  we  were  forbidden  to  enter.  The 
messengers  held  us  back,  or  we  should  otherwise  have  tran- 
quilly pursued  our  journey.  But  this  saved  our  lives  ;  for  we 
afterwards  learnt  that  an  ambush  had  been  formed  outside 
the  city,  and  that  close  to  the  very  gates  twenty  gladiators,  known 
banditti,  were  lying  in  wait  for  us.  Both  the  lesser  and  the 
greater  council  resolved  that  the  matter  must  be  again  brought 
before  the  people.  The  messengers  and  Viret  here  interposed  so 
powerfully  that  the  citizens  seemed  moved.  But  no  sooner  were 
they  gone,  than  one  of  the  councillors  read  our  articles,  and  three 
accusations  were  preferred  against  us,  in  order  to  re-awaken  the 
hatred  of  the  populace.  The  first  was,  that  we  called  the  church 
of  the  Genevese  our  church  ;  the  second,  that  we  spoke  slightingly 
of  the  Bernese,  without  using  the  proper  titles  of  honor ;  and, 
thirdly,  that  we  still  insisted  upon  the  right  of  excommunication. 
'See,'  it  was  said,  'they  already  treat  the  church  as  their 
bishopric  !  see  how  haughtily  they  despise  their  rulers  ;  see  how 
tyrannically  they  proceed  ;  for  what  is  excommunication  but  an 
instrument  of  tyranny?'  This  was  quite  sufficient  to  excite  the 
rage  of  the  people  :  they  resolved  to  die  rather  than  let  us  be 
heard." 

Thus  roused  again  to  fury,  the  citizens  decreed,  in  a  second 

VOL.  i. — 9 


130  calvin's  letters.  [chap.  ix. 

assembly,  which  was  so  stormy  that  swords  were  drawn,  the  fur- 
ther banishment  of  Calvin  and  Farel,  who  were  accordingly  again 
expelled. 

Some  letters  in  Calvin's  own  handwriting  give  us  several  par- 
ticulars regarding  both  his  inward  and  outward  life  during  his 
flight.  A  few  extracts  from  these  letters,  written  in  his  very  con- 
cise style,  may  well  supply  the  place  of  historical  relation  for 
those  who  would  wish  to  become  well  acquainted  with  Calvin. 

He  passed  by  Bern  to  Basel,  where  he  intended  to  remain. 
It  appears  that  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  house  of  Gry- 
neeus,  with  whom  he  lived  on  the  most  friendly  terms.  Farel 
spent  seven  weeks  in  Basel  with  Oporin.  Viret  went  to  Lau- 
sanne. Bucer  did  not  neglect  to  send  Calvin  an  invitation  from 
Strasburg  to  visit  him  in  that  city  ;  but  he  failed  to  associate 
Farel  with  him  in  the  invitation,  and  Calvin,  cherishing  the 
friendship  which  he  did,  would  not  be  separated  from  him.  Farel 
however  went  soon  after  to  Neufchatel,  whither  he  was  called 
with  the  warmest  sentiments  of  affection  and  gratitude,  and  in 
spite  of  all  his  own  resistance,  by  both  the  council  and  the 
people. 

The  following  letter  is  addressed  by  Calvin  to  his  "  best  and 
.most  faithful  brother,  Peter  Viret,  preacher  at  Lausanne:"* — 

"We  came  at  last  to  Basel,  but  wet  through  with  the  rain,  and 
almost  dead  with  weariness.  Danger  even  was  not  wanting  to 
our  journey,  for  one  of  us  was  almost  carried  away  by  the  force 
of  the  torrent.  But  we  found  the  stream  more  merciful  than  men  ; 
for  these,  our  persecutors  against  right  and  duty,  have  driven  us 
forth,  while  the  torrent  as  the  instrument  of  God's  mercy 
delivered  us  from  peril.  We  left  Bern  without  greeting  the 
senate,  for  we  observed  that  there  were  some  there  inclined  to 
keep  us  back.  It  was  further  intimated,  that  we  should  not 
be  forgiven  if  we  rejected  so  valuable  a  call.  The  Lord  opened 
a  way  of  escape,  so  that  we  might  not  appear  too  proud  and 

heated We  have  committed  your  affairs,  dear  Coraud, 

to  good  people." 

The  following  is  a  letter  to  Viret  :t  "We  have  stated  our  cir- 
cumstances to  the  brethren  in  Strasburg  and  Zurich.  As  they 
have  not  yet  answered  us,  we  cannot  determine  with  certainty 
what  degree  of  credit  our  statement  has  found  with  them,  however 
convinced  we  may  be  in  our  own  conscience  of  its  perfect  truth. 

*  Eud  of  May,  1538,  MSS.  Gen.  t  Basel»  June  14,  1538. 


a.d.  1538.]  calvin's  letters.  131 

But  we  have  learnt  from  another  source  what  are  the  feelings  of 
the  Strasburgers  ;  for  Bucer,  before  the  receipt  of  our  letter,  had 
besought  Gryneeus  not  to  let  the  churches  cease  from  extra- 
ordinary exertions  ;  and  so  pathetically  did  he  plead,  that  the 
sorrow  of  this  brave  man  tended  greatly  to  increase  and  deepen 
our  affliction.  But  another  distress  obstructed  our  progress. 
Blaarer,  like  ourselves,  has  been  banished,  for  some  unaccount- 
able cause,  and  with  great  insult,  from  Wurtemberg ;  and  Stur- 
mius,  who  otherwise  exercises  great  influence  over  the  prince, 
has  not  been  able  to  induce  him  to  grant  the  exile  any  testimony 
in  proof  of  his  zeal  and  fidelity.  He  lias  even  deprived  him, 
contrary  to  every  principle  of  humanity,  of  his  pay.  This  is 
among  ourselves  ;  so  that,  Coraud,  there  is  little  hope  here  for 
you." 

The  next  is  from  Farel  and  Calvin  to  Viret.*  They  had  been 
informed  by  the  latter  that  he  would  visit  them  ;  and  they  thank 
him  heartily,  advising  him  in  the  mean  time  with  the  most  friend- 
ly expresssions. 

"You  know  that,  particularly  in  these  times,  and  on  human 
considerations,  nothing  could  rejoice  us  more  than  to  see  you, 
and  to  spend  some  days  with  you  ;  and  little  was  wanting  to 
induce  us,  such  was  our  ceaseless  desire  to  see  you,  to  persuade 
you  to  come,  rather  than  dismiss  you  from  our  thoughts.  But 
Gryneeus  and  Farel  quickly  perceived  the  nature  of  the  thing, 
and  how  much  danger  it  involved.  They  saw  that  you  would 
bring  more  of  hatred  upon  yourself  than  we  could  have  of  sat- 
isfaction and  delight.  It  was  their  opinion  therefore  that  the 
attempt    must    not   be   made,  and  I  resolved  to  abide  by  their 

warning Therefore,  brother,  we  unite  in  saying,  that  we 

would  rather  deprive  ourselves  of  your  company,  dear  as  it  would 
be  to  us,  than  expose  you  to  the  chance,  in  these  sad  times, 
of  offending  those  whom  you  ought  to  attach  to  you  for  the 
common  welfare  of  the  church,  or  at  least  not  convert  into  open 
enemies." 

To  these  letters  I  add  some  extracts  from  others,  written  by 
Calvin  from  Basel  to  Farel,  and  which  strikingly  illustrate  the 
elevation  and  noble  feelings  of  his  soul. 

The  following  is  addressed  to  "  Farel,  the  faithful  preacher  at 
Neufchatel,  my  beloved  brother  :"t — 

"I  can    easily  guess  to  what    end    our    followers    in    Geneva 

*  Basel,  July  20,  MSS.  Gen.  f  MSS.  Gen.  Aug.  4,  1538. 


132  calvin's  letter  to  farel.  [chap.  IX. 

with  their  violent  excitement  will  arrive  ;  after  they  have  destroy- 
ed every  prospect  of  peace  hy  their  fierceness,  they  will  consider 
it  the  best  thing  they  can  do  to  render  us,  belied  as  we  already 
are  both  publicly  and  privately,  as  hateful  as  possible  iu  the 
eyes  of  all  good  men.  Convinced  however  that  they  could  not 
curse  us,  were  it  not  permitted  by  God,  we  will  not  question  to 
what  this  will  of  God  may  tend.  Let  us  therefore  humble 
ourselves,  if  we  would  not  in  our  humiliation  contend  against 
God  ;  in  the  meanwhile  let  us  await  his  appearance,  for  the 
crown  of  pride  of  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim  shall  soon  fade 
away.*  As  for  myself,  I  should  wish  you  not  to  be  so  anxious 
concerning  me. 

"  You  will  see  from  Bucer's  letter  what  he  thinks  ;  he  has 
also  written  to  Grynseus,  but  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity 
of  reading  the  letter;  I  suspect  however  that  he  urges  him  strong- 
ly to  make  me  go  thither,  but  this  I  will  not  do,  except  some 
greater  necessity  compels  me. 

"Grynseus  greets  you  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  and  begs 
you  to  pardon  his  not  having  yet  written,  in  consideration  of 
his  numerous  occupations.  I  have  yet  further  read  Bucer's 
letter,  in  which  he  says,  we  ought  to  be  very  cautious  about 
coming  together,  for  he  suspects  that  we  should  mutually  excite 
each  other  to  a  mode  of  proceeding  too  much  in  accordance 
with  our  mere  natural  feeling.  He  desires  me  to  avoid  going 
anywhere,  where  my  irritable  spirit  might  be  disturbed  by 
agitation."  Bucer  knew  both  these  men  thoroughly.  Calvin 
to  Farel  :|  "  I  send  you  Bucer's  last  letter  :  he  continues  as  usual 
to  convince  me,  showing  by  many  arguments  that  his  plan  is 
a  good  one:  but  1  understand  his  reasoning  only  according  to 
the  character  of  the  man  :  in  other  respects  the  truth  is  self 
evident ;  as  that  it  would  be  judicious  to  let  our  opponents  see 
me  placed  as  a  teacher  in  that  church,  which  they,  whether  they 
would  or  not,  must  necessarily  esteem.  If  a  meeting  be  held, 
my  voice  would  then  have  more  weight,  and  it  would  give  a 
favorable  prepossession  if  such  a  church  as  this  should  appoint 
me  to  an  office  :  but  1  have  again  excused  myself,  as  I  could  not 
take  you  with  me.  Grynseus,  although  more  shy  and  retired, 
to  avoid  any  appearance  of  resisting  our  meeting,  is  evidently 
on  the  whole  more  inclined  to  adopt  the  opinion  of  Bucer.  If 
they  would  bind  me  only  for  a  moderate  period,  I  should  not 
long  deliberate,  but  you  sec  what  their  intention  is.     I  will  await 

*  Isai.  xxviii  1.  *  MSS.  Gen.  20  Aug. 


a.d.  1538.]     calvin's  view  of  church  government.        133 

your  counsel.  Powerful  reasons  prevent  my  hastening-  to  you 
precipitately.  They  will  allow  you,  that  is,  quietly  to  proceed  in 
the  work  of  God,  but  they  would  not  suffer  us  both  to  do  so.  I 
might  here  conclude,  to  spare  your  hearing  that  which  is  implead- 
ing; but  I  will  never  refrain  from  telling  what  God  has  done, 
when  I  am  speaking  to  him  who  is  himself  learning  to  submit  to 
his  providence,  and  is  teaching  others  to  do  the  same. 

'•  Your  nephew  last  Saturday  fell  sick  here  of  the  plague.  His 
companion  and  the  goldsmith,  who  bore  witness  to  the  Gospel  at 
Lyons,  immediately  sent  to  me.  As  I  had  taken  something  to 
cure  my  headache,  I  could  not  visit  him  myself;  but  whatever 
was  necessary  for  his  bodily  good  was  immediately  and  faithfully 
administered.  A  woman  acquainted  with  both  languages,  and 
accustomed  to  such  maladies,  was  engaged  to  sit  up  with  him  ; 
not  being  sufficient  of  herself,  she  took  her  son-in-law  to  assist 
her.  Grynseus  visited  him  frequently  ;  I  did  so  too  as  soon  as  my 
health  allowed  it.  When  our  T.  saw  that  I  did  not  fear  the  dan- 
ger, he  insisted  on  sharing  it  with  me ;  we  spent  a  long  time  with 
him  yesterday.  When  the  signs  of  approaching  death  were  evi- 
dent, I  imparted  spiritual  rather  than  bodily  comfort.  His  mind 
seemed  to  wander,  but  he  had  still  sufficient  consciousness  to  call 
me  back  to  his  chamber,  and  to  entreat  me  earnestly  to  pray  for 
him.  He  had  heard  me  speak  much  of  the  usefulness  of  prayer. 
Early  this  morning,  about  four  o'clock,  he  departed  to  the  Lord. 
Of  his  companion,  who  was  seized  by  the  same  malady,  we  cannot 
yet  speak  with  confidence ;  yesterday  I  thought  there  was  cause 
for  hope,  but  I  feared  this  night;  since,  although  he  had  his  own 
attendant,  and  lay  in  a  separate  chamber,  he  heard  what  had 
happened  to  his  companion.  I  shall  see  him  I  hope  again 
to-day. 

"  This  excellent  man  Schmidt  has  been  dismissed  by  his  master, 
because  he  was  seen  with  the  infected.  I  have  sent  him  with  a 
recommendation  to  Strasburg,  that  he  may  be  able  to  renew  his 
labors  there." 

Calvin  conducted  himself  in  the  whole  of  these  most  difficult 
circumstances  with  the  greatest  caution  ;  he  refused  from  the 
very  beginning  to  allow  that  the  council,  and  not  the  preacher, 
should  decide  in  religious  affairs.  This  was  indeed  one  of  the 
chief  deficiencies  in  the  reformation,  and  for  which  no  remedy 
has  even  yet  been  found.  As  in  Geneva,  so  in  all  other  coun- 
tries, the  temporal  power  attempted  to  become  absolute;  hence 
the  church  was  subjected  to  the  state,  as  before  the  reformation 


134  CALVIN    IN    STRASBURG.  [ciIAP.  X. 

the  state  was  subject  to  the  church  ;  there  was  therefore  in  this 
respect  a  transition  from  one  evil  to  another.  For  the  rest,  the 
order  of  the  service,  to  which  the  clergy  accommodated  themselves, 
continued  afterwards  in  the  reformed  church  according  to  the  pat- 
tern set  by  that  of  Geneva  ;  and  this  accounts,  among  other  rea- 
sons, for  the  use  of  unleavened  bread  in  our  church  ;  since  when 
Calvin  was  restored,  he  would  never  enter  into  a  contention  on  the 
subject. 

Farel  had  abolished,  before  Calvin's  arrival,  the  observation 
of  festivals,  and  retained  only  the  Sabbath  ;  he  was  zealous  for 
his  early  regulations.  Calvin  attributed  little  importance  to  these 
indifferent  things,  but  he  insisted  so  much  the  more  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  clergy.  He  rightly  attributed  his  banishment  to  the 
hatred  of  the  people,  of  the  council,  and  of  the  clergy  to  church- 
discipline,  without  which,  according  to  his  innermost  convictions, 
no  church  could  exist.  "It  is  objected  to  us,"  he  says,  "that 
we  wish  to  introduce  a  new  papacy,  and  to  tyrannize  over  the  free 
church." 

The  ceremonies  served  as  a  pretence  to  many,  but  not  with 
the  senate,  which  declared  that  it  would  only  re-admit  the 
preachers  on  condition  that  they  accommodated  themselves  to 
the  prescribed  service.  Calvin  admitted  immediately  after  to 
the  synod  of  Zurich  that  he  set  no  value  upon  ceremonies. 
In  his  Apostolic  Epistle  from  Strasburg  to  the  city  of  Geneva, 
he  himself  advises  it  to  admit  the  use  of  unleavened  bread. 
Prayer-hours  were  at  a  later  period  set  apart  on  festival  days  ; 
but  when  this  practice  was  suddenly  abolished,  as  we  shall 
hereafter  see,  by  the  council  and  the  people,  Calvin  offered  no 
resistance.  It  was  thus  also  that  he  expressed  himself  towards 
the  church  of  the  English  exiles  at  Frankfort ;  so  that  we  may 
readily  and  without  doubt  attribute  his  present  rude  opposition 
to  the  anxiety  which  he  felt  on  account  of  his  great  fundamental 
principle. 


CHAPTEE  X. 


CALVIN    IN    STRASBURG. 


Wiiilk  the  enemies  of  order  were  triumphing  in  Geneva,  and 
other  preachers  were  invited,  excesses  prevailed  to  the  most 
alarming  extent.     Troops  of  bacchanals  paraded   the  streets   by 


A.D.  1538.]  REFORMATION    AT    STRASBURG.  135 

night,  singing-  riotous  songs,  and  threatening  to  cast  the  preachers 
into  the  Rhone.  The  council  banished  all  the  citizens  who  would 
not  receive  the  decrees  passed  by  the  synod  of  Lausanne.  Saunier, 
Mathurinus  Cordier,  and  many  of  the  better  class,  left  the  city, 
torn  as  it  was  by  factious  insurrections  and  murders. 

Calvin  during  the  whole  of  this  period  (1538),  remained  at 
Strasburg  as  in  a  quiet  haven.  It  was  an  important  season  for 
him  :  the  powers  awakened  in  the  preceding  storm  had  now 
time  for  development,  and  his  ability  as  a  theologian  reached  its 
highest  perfection.  During  his  two  or  three  years'  residence  in 
Strasburg,  he  produced  the  first  of  his  admirable  contributions 
to  exegetical  theology.  This  was  the  second  stage  in  his  doctri- 
nal labors ;  and,  which  is  of  greater  importance,  his  own  religious 
life  now  took  a  higher  direction.  He  forgave  his  enemies,  and 
promoted  with  apostolic  love  the  interests  of  the  churches  by 
which  he  was  persecuted.  At  his  instigation  a  French  reformed 
congregation  was  established,  which  afforded  a  pattern  to  the 
reformed  in  France.  He  also  became  more  closely  acquainted 
with  Melancthon,  and  the  German  religious  life.  Thus  his  resi- 
dence in  Strasburg  was  the  door  to  the  whole  of  his  remarkable 
career. 

Strasburg*  as  early  as  the  year  1525,  through  the  first  efforts 
of  the  council,  and  some  few  evangelical  preachers,  had  adopted 
the  reformation  according  to  the  example  of  the  Swiss  cantons. 
When  Calvin  was  called  thither,  the  high-schools  just  then 
established  gave  a  new  celebrity  to  the  place.  Johannes  Sturm, 
Bucer,  Capito,  Hedio,  Niger,  were  then  laboring  there.  The 
first  of  these  convinced  the  council  how  the  university  ought 
to  be  opened,  and  traced  out  a  plan  and  a  system  of  laws  for 
the  institution.  Jacob  Sturm,  one  of  the  first  council,  was  the 
promoter  of  the  high-school ;  and  multitudes  of  young  men, 
anxious  for  improvement,  flocked  to  the  new  seminary,  not  only 
out  of  the  different  states  of  Germany,  but  from  other  countries. 


*  Jung.  Beitriige  zur  Gesch.  der  Reformation,  T.  I.  Ab.  viii.  In  a  catechism 
now  before  me,  Isagoge  tie  Pueri.s  instituendis  Ecclesire  Argentinensis,  anno  1527, 
mense  Auguato,  one  of  the  oldest  elementary  books  used  in  the  city,  we 
find  pure  Christian  doctrine  agreeing  with  that  of  Calvin.  Excommunication 
is  held,  s.  17.  "  Excornmunicantur  quidani,  ut  ab  eorum  et  vita  et  doctrina  alii 
cavere  possint.  Adhsec  ut  excommunicatua  pudore  suffusus  curet  et  Deo  et  ho- 
minibus  vitre  emendatione  reconciliari  sese."  The  circumstances  are  also  stated 
which  render  excommunication  necessary.  Baptism  is  spoken  of  as  the  sacra- 
ment and  sign  of  the  new  birth;  infant  baptism  is  necessary.  "Baptismus  re- 
generations lavacrum,  ad  induetionem  Christi."  Of  the  Lord's  Supper  it  is  said, 
"  Suum  corpus  edimus,  sanguincmque  bibimus,  sed  spiritualiter  et  cum  ingenti  com- 
modo." 


136  calvin's  moderation.  [chap,  x 

The  evangelical  city  willingly  received  those  who  were  persecuted 
on  account  of  their  faith  in  their  own  land,  and  thus  a  church 
was  established  there  for  the  use  of  the  French  reformed. 

Calvin  had  entertained  the  idea  of  withdrawing  from  the 
public  service  of  religion,  and  returning  to  private  life.  It  was 
only  in  the  midst  of  struggles  that  his  extraordinary  ability 
could  become  developed.  The  same  was  the  case  with  Luther, 
and  it  was  the  work  of  a  higher  power  to  bring  him  back  to 
public  life.  Calvin  himself  relates :  "  When  I  was  freed  from 
this  call  of  duty,  I  purposed  to  seek  tranquillity ;  when  that 
most  excellent  servant  of  Christ,  Martin  Bucer,  following  the 
example  of  Farel,  adjured  me  in  the  name  of  God  to  accept  a 
new  appointment;  he  even  adduced  the  instance  of  Jonah,  and 
so  terrified  me  that  I  again  assumed  the  character  of  a  teacher. 
But  although  I  was  still  what  I  had  ever  been  in  myself,  avoiding 
publicity  as  much  as  possible,  I  was  forced  to  attend  at  the  impe- 
rial diet,  and,  whether  I  would  or  not,  appear  in  the  presence  of  a 
vast  assemblage." 

Two  letters  in  his  handwriting,  from  Strasburg,  afford  us  some 
information  respecting  his  circumstances  at  that  time.  I  give 
them  both  on  this  account,  and  also  because  they  show  the  view 
which  he  took  of  the  various  parties  then  existing. 

Calvin  to  Farel :  "  Grace  be  to  you,  and  peace  from  the  Lord  ! 
1  rejoice  that  the  marriage  festivities  of  Grynaeus  happened  just 
at  this  time,  when  so  many  and  such  weighty  affairs  obliged  you 
to  remain.  There  was  no  conference,  as  had  been  expected,  and 
our  friends  returned  after  two  days.  The  Zurichers  guessed 
what  Gryneeus  had  in  his  mind ;  they  promised  therefore  to 
come,  and  on  the  appointed  day  arrived  the  apology.  When  the 
necessity  of  a  conference  was  afterwards  insisted  upon,  all  hope 
of  its  being  held  was  finally  abandoned.  One  cannot  but  lament 
that  men,  otherwise  so  faithful  and  prudent,  should  care  so 
little  for  the  common  peace.  They  ought  to  strive  not  only  to 
preserve  a  holy  union  among  each  other,  but,  as  a  matter  of 
duty,  to  see  that  other  churches  agree  with  them,  and  that  they 
also  agree  with  one  another.  Let  it  be  that  Luther  is  always 
sinning  ;  I  confess  that  I  am  not  satisfied  with  him  ;  but  what 
will  be  the  end,  if  we  strive  with  our  whole  might  to  prove  each 
other  sinners?  They  are  not  a  little  unjust  to  Bucer  when  they 
pretend  that  no  good  is  to  be  expected  from  him.  Let  it  even 
be  allowed  them  in  every  respect  to  take  the  lead,  yet  they 
certainly  must  commit  an  error  somewhere,  for  otherwise  whv 


a.d.  1538.]  calvin's  letter  to  farel.  137 

should  they  so  fear  a  conference?  If  they  think  that  Bucer  might 
be  improved,  how  could  they  find  a  better  occasion  to  admonish 
him  ?  But  I  need  not  say  this  to  one  who  shares  my  regret  and 
cannot  make  things  different.  The  Bernese,  in  expectation  of 
an  approaching  conference,  have  deemed  it  advisable  not  to  come 
to  the  festival,  lest  it  might  be  supposed  that  something  particular 
was  in  preparation  :  they  have  therefore  excused  themselves ; 
and  unless  I  had  wished  to  throw  myself  into  the  arms  of  death, 
I  could  not  trust  my  body  to  such  a  journey.  So  violent  a  diar- 
rhoea seized  me  the  day  before,  that,  almost  worn  out,  I  could 
scarcely  hold  myself  upright  the  whole  day,  notwithstanding  the 
greatest  care  and  repose;  it  is  fortunate  therefore  that  your  trouble 
was  not  useless." 

In  the  following  he  admonishes  Farel  to  act  cautiously  towards 
that  dangerous  man  Conz. 

"If  we  believe  that  the  Lord  is  the  avenger  of  the  innocent,  as 
we  are  not  without  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience  before  Him, 
let  us  be  contented  with  this,  our  only  protection.  I  will  never 
consent  to  our  using  subterfuges  and  art,  the  resource  of  those 
who  have  something  evil  to  defend:  but  still  we  must  not  neglect 
such  favorable  opportunities,  as  can  in  nowise  lead  us  from  the 
right  path  on  which  we  have  set  out.  It  is  this  which  displeases 
me  in  Bucer:  he  reproaches  us  too  severely  with  having  sinned, 
and  then  he  adds,  but  where  is  there  a  better,  where  a  more  learned 
man  ?  I  should  be  more  pleased,  if,  instead  of  praising  us  so  much, 
he  less  readily  accused  us  of  error. 

"I  expect  you  to  send  me  an  especial  account  of  your  meeting: 
happy  shall  I  be  if  everything  was  done  for  the  edification  of 
the  church.  Our  own  friends  continue  to  exert  themselves  dili- 
gently to  improve  its  discipline,  but  cautiously,  lest  the  enemy 
hearing  of  it  might  throw  obstructions  in  their  way.  If  any  tole- 
rable arrangement  be  established  here,  the  only  method,  as  far  as 
I  can  see,  of  introducing  it  among  you  is  to  let  it  be  proposed  at 
your  first  meeting,  and  confirmed  by  a  general  resolution  ;  but  this 
must  not  be  till  the  end  of  the  year,  for  I  can  see  no  hope  of  suc- 
cess if  it  be  attempted  sooner. 

"We  have  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  in  our  little  church 
for  the  first  time,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  place,  and  have 
determined  to  administer  it  every  month.  Capito  and  Bucer 
desire  me  to  greet  you  and  our  brethren  again  in  the  most 
friendly  manner.  Bucer  is  about  to  undertake  a  long,  and 
at    this    time    of   the   year,    a    most    difficult    journey ;    he    is 


138  CALVIX'S    REMARKS    ON    HIS    DETRACTORS.    [cHAP.  X. 

going  to  the  Laodgraf,  in  order  to  proceed  with  him  into  Sax- 
ony. It  is  his  wish  to  confer  with  him,  with  some  free-cities, 
with  Luther,  and  the  Saxons,  respecting  ecclesiastical  property, 
which  it  is  their  desire  to  restore  to  its  legitimate  use.  I  have 
given  him  a  letter  to  Philip,*  in  which  I  beseech  him  to  explain 
his  meaning  more  fully  to  me;  to  this  I  have  added  twelve  arti- 
cles, and  if  he  grant  me  these,  I  can  have  nothing  to  desire  either 
of  him  or  Luther  in  this  respect.  When  I  hear  anything,  I  will 
let  you  know  immediately.  I  shall  go  to  Bucer's  house  after  two 
days." 

The  following  is  addressed  to  Pigna:us  ;t  it  proves  Calvin's 
superiority  to  slander  and  common  report :  he  thus  sensibly 
expresses  his  opinion: — "That  I  have  not  spoken  openly  to  our 
brethren  respecting  the  late  occurrences,  was  by  design.  Even 
if  I  had  not  certainly  known  and  seen  that  I  cannot  write  a 
single  word,  without  its  being  made  an  occasion  for  every  kind 
of  slander,  yet  had  I  resolved  by  my  silence  to  put  a  stop  to 
the  maledictions  of  my  enemies.  I  was  convinced  that  this  would 
be  approved  of  by  my  brethren.  Now,  as  it  cannot  be  otherwise, 
1  write  to  them  respecting  the  foundation  of  my  faith  :  not  one 
complaining  letter,  however,  to  your  consistory  shall  be  ex- 
torted from  me.  The  quiet  of  the  churches  is  too  precious  in 
my  sight,  to  let  me  think  of  breaking  it  on  my  own  account. 
If  there  were  any  proper  causes  of  complaint,  if  the  dignity  of  the 
complainant  were  sufficiently  great  to  give  weight  to  his  represen- 
tation, you  might  perhaps  move  me,  since  my  silence  then  would 
stamp  disgrace  upon  my  office.  But  I  see  no  end  to  the  struggle, 
if  1  express  my  own  opinion  on  the  matter,  or  how  such  cabals 
are  to  be  brought  to  silence. 

"  If  the  interests  of  Christ  and  the  church  did  not  keep  me  back, 
they  would  soon  reap  the  fruit  of  their  weakness  and  insolence. 
But  I  should  appear  morose  in  the  eyes  of  men  of  piety,  if,  not 
contented  with  the  answer  of  my  good  conscience  before  God,  or 
witli  the  judgment  of  the  church,  I  yielded  to  the  force  of  my  in- 
dignation because  of  the  tumult  excited  by  these  noisy  and  worth- 
less men. 

"I  will  not  say  how  honorable  the  decision  of  the  church 
is  to  us  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  our  ministry  has  earned  its  praise. 
Neither  will  I  repeat   how  many  men  of  the  highest  standing, 

*  It  merits  observation  that  lie  felt  himself  drawn  towards  Mclancthon,  not 
Luther. 

f  MSS.  Gen.  Strasburg,  Oct.  1,  1638. 


A.D.  1538.]  DEATH    OF    CORAUD.  139 

and  in  the  most  distinguished  churches,  have  borne  testimony  to 
us  both  publicly  and  privately.  This  only  do  I  say,  that  so  long 
as  I,  resting  on  the  purity  of  my  own  conscience  and  on  the  judg- 
ment of  the  church,  do  not  shun  the  light,  it  is  indifferent  to  me 
how  much  these  dogs  may  bark  in  their  holes  and  corners. 
I  am  convinced  however  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  do  this 
much  longer ;  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  as  I  hope,  when  the 
justification  of  truth  will  be  heard.  But  you  may  very  quietly 
consider  this,  whether  it  be  right  that  a  man  called  by  Stras- 
burg  to  the  office  of  a  preacher  should  be  so  mangled  by  that 
slanderer." 

"  The  edition  of  our  catechism  gives  me  a  great  deal  of  anxiety, 
especially  as  the  day  is  so  near  at  hand."  (;Thy  Calvin." 

In  the  same  month  (Oct.  21,  1538)  a  letter  to  Farel  shows  us 
the  excited  state  of  his  feelings,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
Coraud,  who  had  been  banished  with  him,  and  whom  he  suspect- 
ed of  being  murdered. 

"I  am  so  bowed  down  by  the  death  of  Coraud  that  I  can  set 
no  limit  to  my  anguish.  None  of  my  usual  employments  is  suf- 
ficient to  keep  my  mind  from  perpetually  reverting  to  the  subject. 
The  distresses  and  sorrows  of  the  day  are  supplied  by  still  more 
painful  thoughts  in  the  melancholy  hours  of  the  night.  It  is  not 
merely  the  usual  sleeplessness,  against  which  habit  has  hardened 
me,  that  I  have  now  to  suffer.  I  am  killed  by  an  utter  want  of 
sleep,  and  this  is  of  all  things  most  destructive  to  my  health.* 
But  my  mind  is  chiefly  burdened  with  that  iniquitous  deed 
which,  if  my  suspicions  be  well  grounded,  I  must,  whether  I 
will  or  not,  bring  to  light.t  To  what  will  they  who  come  after 
us  arrive,  if  such  things  happen  at  our  very  beginning  !  Greatly 
do  I  fear  that  this  crime  will  be  punished  before  long  by  some 
great  affliction  in  the  church.  And  truly  it  is  no  slight  indica- 
tion of  the  anger  of  God,  that  where  there  are  so  few  good  min- 
isters, the  church  should  be  thus  deprived  of  one  of  its  best. 
How  then  can  we  do  otherwise  than  lament  our  misfortune,  even 
though  consolation  is  not  wanting!  The  greatest  comfort  which 
we  have  is  this,  that  all  testify  by  their  grief  and  desire  the  vener- 
ation in  which  his  virtue  and  integrity  were  held.  Our  Lord 
never  allows,  even  upon  earth,  that  the  wickedness  of  our  ene- 

*  Melancthon  'was  all  his  life  afflicted  with  this  kind  of  sleeplessness. 

f  Ed.  L.  Ep.  xi.  Calvin's  suspicions  were  probably  well  grounded,  since  many 
murderous  attempts  had  been  made  against  the  evangelical  ministers  at  Geneva. 
His  soul  became  elevated  in  misfortune  with  courage  and  in  the  strength  of  faith. 


140  CHARACTER    OF    CORAUD.  [CHAP.  X. 

inies  should  remain  hid.  They  have  not  gained  the  worth  of  a 
single  hair  through  his  death.  There  stands  hefore  the  juilg- 
ment-seat  of  God  a  witness  and  an  accuser  of  their  unrighteous- 
ness, whose  voice  will  proclaim  with  more  awful  accents  than 
when  it  shakes  the  earth,  their  eternal  reprobation.  But  we  whom 
God  has  still  left  in  this  world,  would  desire  quietly  to  pursue 
the  path  which  our  brother  walked,  till  our  course  be  finished. 
Whatever  the  difficulties  which  oppose  us,  they  will  not  prevent 
our  attaining  to  that  rest  to  which  he  has  already  been  admitted. 
If  this  hope  did  not  remain  sure  and  steadfast,  what  cause  for 
despair  should  we  not  find  in  almost  everything  around  us  ? 
But  the  truth  of  the  Lord  is  immovable  and  indestructible,  and 
therefore  will  we  remain  upon  our  watch-tower  to  the  end,  and 
till  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  which  is  now  hidden,  shall  appear." 

Calvin  was  not  only  appointed  by  the  council  at  Strasburg  min- 
ister of  the  French  congregation,  but  was  also  desired  to  give 
lectures  in  divinity.  lie  himself  speaks  of  his  theological  labors 
in  one  of  his  letters:  "I  have  been  lately  induced  by  Capito  to 
give  public  lectures  :  thus  I  either  lecture  or  preach  every  day." 
Johannes  Sturm*  also  relates,  "  that  in  the  third  year  after  his 
own  arrival  in  Strasburg,  Calvin  came  to  that  city,  and  was  so 
recommended  to  the  council  by  the  theologians,  that  he  taught  in 
the  academy,  and  had  the  French  church  of  St.  Nicolas  prepared 
for  him." 

"  The  first  portion  of  Scripture  upon  which  Calvin  commented 
was  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  He  was  present  at  all  the  disputa- 
tions in  the  gymnasium,  or  conducted  them,  defending  his  own 
theses.  He  also  held  a  disputation  with  the  dean  of  Passau,  who 
entertained  the  erroneous  opinion  that  salvation  proceeds  from 
the  works  of  faith.  Jacobus  Sturm  and  the  inspectors  of  the 
schools  presided  on  this  occasion.  He  now  also,  while  with  us, 
enlarged  and  corrected  his  '  Institutes,'  and  nothing  was  afterwards 
added  which  cannot  be  found  in  this  edition." 

At  Strasburg,  Calvin's  mind  was  still  occupied  with  his  great 
plan,  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  church  discipline.  He 
speaks  of  this  continually  in  his  letters  :  it  was  the  theme  of  his 
most  earnest  thoughts.       His  whole  system  of  discipline  is  found 

_  *  "  Joh,  Sturmii  Rectoris  Arg.  Antipappi  tree.  1570.  Quarti  Antipappi  tfes  partes. 
Neapoli  Palai.  1580,  pp.  20,  21.  Bo  tempore,  eo  inquam  biennio,  quo  nobiscumerat 
c  ;il'.  nm-,  Buaa  [nst.  recognovit  et  auzit  Quibua  nihil  post  adtlidit  quod  cum  primis 
pugnet,  ei  ©quo  eertetur  arbitrio.     Nemo  de  hac  editions  conquerebatur :   ut de  Lu- 

l1'' '"  '■  '■• '  ""■  T'l  amautei  Calvmom  in  suis  Uteris  Balutaverat." 


a.d.  1539.]  calvin's  '  institutes.'  14l 

described  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  revised  Strasburg  edition  of 
the  '  Institutes.'  In  the  last  edition  of  the  work  nothing  is 
actually  defective,  and  the  only  fault  of  the  second  edition  is, 
that  there  is  a  want  of  order.  Nothing  is  said  expressly  on  the 
punishment  of  heretics,  but  the  magistrate  and  the  church  to- 
gether are  represented  as  having  a  right  to  punish  offences.  The 
church  ought  not  to  give  the  sinner  over  to  the  temporal  power, 
but  should  practise  a  spiritual  jurisdiction  by  the  Word  of  God 
alone.  Of  this  more  will  be  said  hereafter,  but  we  here  find 
the  basis  of  all  the  subsequent  arrangements  respecting  disci- 
pline. The  fourteen  articles  agreed  upon  in  Paris  in  the  year 
1559  had  the  same  foundation,  and  hence  the  protest  against  an 
irremovable  president,  and  the  appointment  of  two  laymen  to  one 
minister. 

In  Calvin's  letter  from  Worms  to  his  deputy  at  Strasburg, 
whom  he  calls  his  deacon,  we  see  his  anxiety  about  the  discipline 
introduced,  and  his  desire  to  establish  some  preparation  for  the 
Lord's  Supper,  a  confession.  He  had  already,  at  Geneva,  shown 
his  wish  to  introduce  the  rule  of  denying  the  sacrament  to  the 
unworthy;  and  this  was  now  actually  observed  in  Switzerland, 
Caroli  having  been  excluded  from  the  Lord's  table.  Hence  the 
blame  which  attached  to  Farei  for  having  received  him  again  into 
his  friendship  as  soon  as  he  offered  himself,  without  further  in- 
quiry. There  was  much  conversation  also  at  this  time  respecting 
a  person  named  Alexander,  who  had  been  excommunicated,  and 
who  therefore,  according  to  Calvin's  opinion,  ought  not  to  be 
received  by  any  of  the  brethren.  That  he  himself  would  hold 
no  conversation  with  him,  and  had  expelled  him  his  house,  we 
learn  from  a  letter  to  Farel,  dated  Oct.  27,  1539.  No  mention 
however  is  made  of  the  form  of  excommunication  employed. 

With  regard  to  the  spiritual  condition  of  Strasburg,  Calvin 
represents  it,  in  the  letter  alluded  to  above,  as  miserably  low. 
"Wherever  you  look,  something  offensive  meets  your  eyes.  For 
my  own  part,  as  I  can  see  no  end  to  these  miseries,  I  should  al- 
most despair  in  my  very  soul,  were  I  not  kept  back  by  the  consid- 
eration that  one  must  never  forsake  the  work  of  God,  happen 
what  may.  In  the  midst  too  of  so  many  evils,  the  Lord  still  gives 
something  to  comfort  us." 

That  Calvin  was  not  at  this  time  opposed  to  the  practices  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  and  that  he  wished  to  establish  the  rite  of 
confession,  as  exercised  among  the  Lutherans,  appears    from  a 


142  calvin's  views  of  confession.  [chap.  X. 

letter  to  Fare!,*  in  which  particular  mention  is  made  of  this  part 
of  discipline.  Calvin  writes  :  ''That  the  examination  of  which 
I  have  spoken  may  excite  some  scruple  in  the  hearts  of  good 
Christians,  does  not  surprise  me.  It  is  indeed  no  new  thing  that 
pious  souls  should  fear  our  falling  back  into  superstition,  when- 
ever they  hear  of  our  establishing  anything  which  has  even  a 
remote  similarity  to  popish  inventions.  Although  I  cannot  expel 
these  doubts  from  their  minds,  for  we  have  not  the  means  of  doing 
so  I  may  express  the  wish  that  they  would  be  somewhat  more 
careful  to  separate  the  good  wheat  from  the  chaff  and  the  tares. 
I  have  often  told  you,  that  I  should  have  thought  it  unwise  to 
abolish  confession  in  our  churches,  unless  the  rite  which  I  have 
lately  introduced  had  been  established  in  its  place.  That  you 
may  the  better  understand  my  sentiments,  I  will  briefly  explain 
what  I  mean. 

"  When  the  day  for  celebrating  the  Lord's  Supper  approaches, 
I  give  notice  that  any  one  who  may  wish  to  communicate  should 
come  beforehand  to  my  house :  I  add  my  reason  for  this  invita- 
tion. It  is,  first,  that  they  who  know  but  little  of  religion  may 
be  better  instructed  ;  secondly,  that  they  who  need  admonition 
may  receive  it ;  and,  lastly,  that  they  who  are  afflicted  in  their 
consciences  may  obtain  comfort.  But  as  there  is  some  danger 
that  the  people,  who  cannot  distinguish  clearly  between  the 
yoke  of  Christ  and  the  tyranny  of  the  pope,  may  fear  they  are 
about  to  be  riveted  in  a  new  slavery,  I  am  laboring  to  meet 
this  doubt.  I  not  only  distinctly  declare  that  the  popish  con- 
fession is  altogether  hateful  to  me,  but  give  reasons  why  it  is  so. 
I  stale  expressly,  that  this  superstition  must  not  only  excite 
horror,  but  that  no  law  can  be  endured  which  tends  to  ensnare 
the  conscience ;  that  Christ  is  our  only  lawgiver,  and  that  we 
are  answerable  to  him  alone.  I  then  show,  that  this  practice  is 
not  in  anywise  opposed  to  our  freedom,  for  that  I  desire  nothing 
but  what  Christ  himself  has  taught,  since  it  were  plainly  a  scandal 
if  you  would  not  allow  the  church,  whose  communion  you  seek, 
to  inquire  into  your  belief.  And  must,  not  the  state  of  the  church 
be  a  very  unhappy  one,  if  it  were  compelled,  at  the  moment  of 
administering  so  great  a  mystery,  to  admit  those  of  whom  nothing 
is  known,  or  whom  it  has  just  cause  to  regard  with  suspicion  \ 
But  to  Bay  nothing  of  the  church  itself,  how  can  the  preacher, 
to  whom   it   pertains  to  distribute   the  means  of   grace,  properly 

*  MSS.  Gen.  Mar.  1540. 


A.D.  1539.J  CALVIN    ON    THE    CHURCH.  143 

acquit  himself  of  the  duty,  if  he  have  no  means  of  distinguishing 
between  the  worthy  and  the  unworthy  ?  How  can  he  otherwise 
avoid  exposing  the  sacrament  to  open  shame,  and  that  before 
dogs  and  swine?  But  I  am  foolish  in  giving  you  this  long,  dis- 
jointed statement.  Time  also  fails  me  :  that  which  I  feared  has 
happened  ;  I  have  been  called  off  many  times  since  I  began  to 
write." 

It  was  Calvin's  original  wish  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper 
every  four  weeks  ;  and  it  was  only  the  early  arrangement  in 
Geneva  which  led  to  that  frequent  celebration  of  the  sacrament  in 
the  reformed  church,  which  is  still,  after  three  centuries,  continued. 
We  learn  the  same  thing  from  the  following  letter  addressed  by 
Calvin  to  "  Nicolas  Parens,  his  very  dear  brother."* 

"I  am  very  glad  that  you  have  deferred  the  administration  of 
the  holy  sacrament  till  next  month,  because  you  could  not  cele- 
brate it  without  breaking  through  the  order  which,  for  good  rea- 
sons, I  so  strongly  wish  to  see  observed. t  It  delights  my  heart 
that  our  little  church  is  safe,  and  that  it  does  not  suffer  through 
my  absence.  This  is  really  a  consolation  and  refreshment,  while 
affairs  in  other  respects  look  so  gloomy.  Although  it  was  only  at 
setting  off,  and  in  few  words,  that  I  stated  what  seemed  necessary, 
the  advice  was  good,  and  I  see  with  joy  that  you  have  followed  it. 
I  say  this,  not  because  it  was  my  advice,  but  because  it  has  been 
not  without  its  use  to  you,  or  without  benefit  to  others.  With 
regard  to  the  poor,  I  am  in  great  perplexity  how  we  are  to 
find  the  means  of  assisting  them.  You  see  the  poverty  of  our 
church,  and  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  in  any  way  help  from 
France.  If  you  can  but  find  enough  in  our  chest  to  supply  the 
present  necessity  till  my  return,  we  will  then  consider  what  can 
be  done." 

In  another  letter  from  Strasburg,  addressed  to  Pigtiteus,  and  da- 
ted January  5,  1539,  he  answers  a  difficult  question  respecting  the 
sacrament.  + 

"  The  brethren  of  Geneva  are  offended  at  my  letter,  in  which 
I  warned  them  against  a  schism  among  themselves.  Sonnerius 
had  told  me  that  they  considered  it  unlawful  to  partake  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  evil-doers,  or  to  receive  it  from  the  hands 
of  unholy  ministers.      As  I  thought  they  were  tormenting  them- 


*  MSS.  Gen.  Worms,  Dec.  1-1,  1540. 

f  Calvin  insisted  particularly,  at  the  Zurich  synod,  on  the  administration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  every  mouth. 
£  MSS.  Gen. 


144  calvin's  letter  to  the  [chap.  x. 

selves  with  superstitious  scruples,  I  was  anxious  to  remove 
them."  He  then  says  plainly,  the  Genevese  ought  to  partake 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  even  though  it  were  administered  by 
unworthy  ministers.  "I  will  let  you  see  in  three  words,"  he 
continues,  "why  1  have  thus  taught.  A  church  exists  wherever 
the  spirit  of  Christ  prevails  ;  though  there  may  be  errors,  some 
degree  of  soundness  must  still  be  preserved,  and  the  judgment 
of  the  church  must  be  accepted  as  the  Word  of  God.  Baptism 
can  only  be  administered  in  the  church  :  a  church  is  there  where 
the  doctrine  is  preached,  through  which  it  is  established  as  on  a 
rock.  If  even  the  doctrine  is  marked  with  error,  it  is  enough 
for  me  if  only  that  which  is  fundamental  remains  secure.  Pious 
and  believing  men  therefore  may  partake  of  the  sacraments  even 
in  Geneva. 

"But  I  have  alse  said,  at  the  same  time,  that,  it  would  be  rather 
a  sacrilege  than  a  sacrament  if  I  administered  the  Lord's  Supper 
among  them,  and  I  have  still  the  same  feeling.  It  is  the  preach- 
ers only  who  are  concerned  with  those  who,  guilty  of  sin,  draw 
near  unworthily.  As  the  minister  distributes  the  sacrament,  so  it 
is  his  duty  to  exercise  foresight  and  fidelity,  and  not  to  bestow  the 
holy  mystery  without  distinction.  But  certainly  they  who  have 
a  good  conscience  need  not  keep  away,  if  the  sacrament  be  ad- 
ministered according  to  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  because  of  the 
wickedness  of  others.  I  do  not  therefore  contradict  myself.  .... 
The  Israelites,  and  even  the  first  Christians,  received  the  sacra- 
ments in  the  most  melancholy  condition  of  the  church.*  ....  I 
neither  intend,  nor  consider  it  necessary,  to  pursue  the  whole  of 
the  subject  here ;  but  I  will  never  allow  myself  to  become  the 
author  of  a  schism.  Before  I  could  do  this,  I  must  have  learnt 
that  the  church  had  altogether  ceased  to  honor  God  and  preach 
his  Word." 

Calvin  exhibited  much  moderation,  reflection,  and  love  of  peace 
in  this  affair,  as  he  did  in  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  where 
the  honor  of  God  was  not  assailed. 

In  1539  Calvin  received  the  right  of  citizenship  at  Strasburg,t 
and  lived  in  great  respect.      Sturmius  says,  "  The  French  church 

*  The  Genevese,  who  meant  rightly,  had  gone  to  the  other  extreme  after  the  ban- 
Bhmenl  <>t  Calvin;  and  as  lie  had  refused  to  administer  the  sacraments,  they  would 
now  have  none. 

f  Two  records  <>f  this  fact  exist  at  Gotha  (foL  738,  7S91  In  the  former,  John  Cal- 
vin is  said  t.,  have  bought  the  right  of  citizenship,  and  to  have  enrolled  himself  in  the 
Tailors  Company,  Tuesday,  July  '29,  1539.  The  statement  is  to  the  same  purport  in 
the  other  document 


A.D.  1539.J  GENEVESE    BRETHREN.  145 

here  increased  every  clay.  Many  students  and  men  of  learning 
came  hither  from  .France  on  account  of  Calvin."  But  his  own 
inward  affection  would  not  permit  him  to  forget  his  earlier  church  : 
he  felt  that  he  could  never  cease  to  be  its  minister  and  pastor. 
Thus,  on  the  first  of  October,  1538,  he  wrote  a  most  edifying  letter 
to  the  Genevese,  exhorting  them  at  the  end  to  have  courage,  and 
to  place  their  whole  trust  on  the  goodness  of  God,  on  his  grace  and 
promises.  In  a  second  letter  to  the  same  people,  dated  June  25, 
1539,  are  admirable  passages,  which  might  profitably  be  addressed 
to  any  church.  The  Genevese,  since  Calvin's  departure,  had  fal- 
len into  disputes  with  their  new  preachers.  Referring  to  this,  he 
properly  remarks,  how  highly  the  ministers  of  a  community  ought 
to  be  respected  ;  and  that  if  they  only  preach  the  Gospel,  people 
ought  to  be  contented  with  them,. though  they  may  have  their 
imperfections. 

"  All  personal  considerations  laid  aside,  let  it  be  especially  re- 
collected, what  honor  the  Lord  has  bestowed  upon  them  ;  and 
what  he  has  entrusted  to  those  who  are  charged  with  the  office  of 

proclaiming  his  Word Thus  he  commands  us  not  only  to 

listen  with  fear  and  trembling,  when  the  Word  is  preached  to  us, 
but  to  show  all  honor  and  respect  for  those  who  preach  it,  who, 
as    his    ambassadors,    are    adorned    with    his    commission,    and 

whom  he  desires   to  have  regarded   as   his  angels If  this 

observation  has  any  force  with  you,  you  will  never  lose  sight  of 
the  principle,  that  those  who  preach  to  you  the  Word  of  God, 
and  to  whom  the  conduct  of  your  souls  has  been  committed, 
ought  to  be  recognized  by  you  as  occupying  the  place  of  parents  ; 
and  that  they  should  be  highly  esteemed  for  the  sake  of  them 
office,  which  they  exercise  among  you  according  to  their  divine 
commission.  It  is  not  my  meaning  that  you  are  to  be  deprived 
of  that  right  which  God  has  given  to  you,  as  to  all  his  people,  to 
subject  all  preachers  to  a  trial,  that  the  good  may  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  evil,  and  those  sent  back  who,  under  the 
mask  of  shepherds,  are  wolfish  plunderers.  All  I  wish  is,  that 
you  should  treat  those  who  still  perform  the  duties  of  the  ministry 
up  to  a  certain  point,  and  are  therefore  sufferable,  with  Chris- 
tian forbearance,  and  so  may  endeavor  to  learn  rather  what  you 
owe  to  others  than  what  others  owe  to  you.  We  must,  of 
course,  see  that  those  who  are  called  to  be  preachers  fulfil 
their  duty.  I  acknowledge  that  great  judgment  is  necessary 
in  this  matter.  Most  certainly  I  do  not  wish  to  see  a  kind  of 
despotism    introduced    into   the    church,    so    that    pious    people 

vol.  i. — 10 


146    CALVIN    ON    THE    RESPECT    DUE    TO    MINISTERS.     [cilAP.  X. 

should  be  compelled  to  hold  those  for  servants  of  God  who  do  not 
perform  their  office.  It  is  not  to  be  endured  that  one  should  be 
called  upon  to  pay  that  respect  and  honor  to  the  unworthy,  which 
the  Lord  himself  has  assigned  only  to  the  true  preachers  of  his 
Word.  I  readily  admit  that  he  who  does  not  preach  the  Word  of 
the  Lord  Christ,  does  not  deserve  to  be  regarded  as  a  preacher,  or 
to  be  treated  with  the  respect  due  to  the  office,  whatever  be  his 
title,  or  whatever  his  pretensions. 

"But  as  I  hear  that  our  brethren,  now  settled  among  you,  are 
teaching  you  the  Gospel,  I  do  not  see  what  excuse  you  can  make 
before  God.  if  you  neglect  or  despise  them.  If  any  one  among 
you  says  that  this  or  that  in  their  doctrine,  or  their  manners,  dis- 
pleases him,  inquire  diligently,  I  beseech  you,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ,  what  it  is.  Then,  as  the  law  of  love  commands  us, 
not  lightly  to  judge  our  neighbor,  but  to  show  as  much  mildness 
and  consideration  as  possible,  with  how  much  greater  freedom 
from  passion  should  we  act  towards  those  whom  God  has 
set  over  us !  And  even  should  there  be  anything  to  find  fault 
with  in  their  conduct,  of  which  I  cannot  judge,  yet  ought  you  to 
recollect  that  no  man  in  the  world  is  free  from  blame.  I  exhort 
you,  therefore,  and  beseech  you  in  the  name  and  in  the  power  of 
Christ,  that  you  turn  your  attention  and  thoughts  from  man  to 
your  Redeemer,  and  endeavor,  as  it  is  our  duty  to  do,  to  follow 
his  commandments.  If  you  contend  with  your  ministers,  so  that 
dissensions  and  scandals  are  created,  as  I  hear  they  are,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  their  office,  in  which  the  glory  of  Christ  should  shine 
forth,  is  put  to  shame  and  almost  trodden  under  foot.  Beware, 
then,  lest  while  you  intend  to  humble  man,  you  in  reality  declare 
war  with  God.  For  the  rest,  do  not  imagine  that  it  is  a  small 
thing  to  foment  divisions  and  sects  in  this  manner :  this  is  so 
great  an  offence  that  one  can  scarcely  hear  of  it  without  a  shud- 
der. And  that  this  offence  has  been  created  while  the  preachers 
and  the  church  have  fallen  into  a  state  of  disunion  and  schism,  is 
shown  by  the  thing  itself.  Lastly,  if  I  may  believe  that  you  re- 
gard me  as  your  brother,  and  that  a  bond  exists  between  us 
which  corresponds  to  that  name,  I  beseech  you  not  to  cast 
away  these  preachers,  of  whose  appointment  I  have  approved, 
only  seeking  your  good  and  your  salvation,  without  fear  or  regard 
to  man." 


CHAPTER  XL 

SADOLET. 

As  soon  as  the  supports  of  the  reformation  were  removed  from 
Geneva,  the  pope  took  the  determination  to  employ  this  favor- 
able circumstance  for  the  overthrow  of  the  city.  The  cardinal 
Sadoletus,*  a  man  of  much  spirit  and  pure  morals,  who  had  his 
see  in  Carpentras  in  Dauphine,  on  the  borders  of  Savoy,  wrote  to 
the  people  of  Geneva,  with  the  design  of  furthering  this  object,  so 
pathetic  and  skilful  a  letter,  that  it  would  doubtless  have  pro- 
duced great  injury  in  the  city,  vexed  by  continual  agitation, 
had  it  not  been  written  in  a  strange  language.  There  was 
even  at  that  time  no  one  in  Geneva  who  could  answer  it. 
Calvin  however,  as  soon  as  he  met  with  this  letter  in  Strasburg, 
replied  to  it  with  so  much  eloquence,  aided  by  the  spirit  of  God, 
who  interceded  for  the  bewildered  church  :(  with  groanings  which 
cannot  be  uttered,"  that  Sadoletus  lost  all  courage  and  desisted 
from  his  attempt.  The  answer  is  dated  September  1,  1539.  It 
exhibits  the  noble  disposition  of  its  great  author,  or  in  other  words 
his  inward  conviction  of  duty, — the  power  of  the  voice  which 
called  him  to  Geneva,  and  constrained  him  to  labor  for  the  salva- 
tion of  its  church.  He  always  regarded  himself,  as  we  have  al- 
ready observed,  even  while  in  Strasburg,  as  the  pastor  of  that 
church. 

Sadolet  assailed  the  Genevese  with  the  common  argument, 
which  we  are  sometimes  obliged  to  hear  even  in  the  present  day, 
that  the  catholic  church,  with  its  long  experience  of  thirteen  cen- 
turies, must  have  more  to  advance  than  the  reformed  commu- 
nity, which  had  then  existed  for  scarcely  more  than  twenty-five 
years.  According  to  Sadolet,  unity  is  the  chief  characteristic  of 
the  catholic  church ;  it  is  governed  and  guided,  in  all  ages  and  in 
all  lands,  by  the  one  same  spirit  of  Christ,  and  the  surest  sign  of 
error    in   doctrine    is   difference    of  opinion. t      He    accuses  the 

*  Ranke,  '  Die  Riiniischen  Piipste'  ia  sixteenth  and  seventeen  centuries,  p.  133. 
Sadolet  and  Contarini  seem  to  have  had  some  sympathy  with  the  German  reformers, 
but  their  feeling  respecting  the  unity  of  the  church  was  so  strong  that  they  could  not 
separate  themselves  from  it. 

f  Bossuet,  and  in  our  own  times  La  Mennais,  while  he  still  held  with  the  catholics, 
have  most  absurdly  repeated  this  notion. 


118  calvin's  reply  to  sadolet.  [chap.  XI. 

protest  ants  of  having  torn  the  vesture  of  Christ,  which  even  t  he 
heathen  would  not  do,  and  of  warring  against  charity,  which  de- 
sires the  preservation  of  unity.  The  man  who  destroys  this 
unity  is  forever  lost,  if  he  do  not  repent,  and  the  reformation  it- 
self is  a  great  falling  away  from  this  unity  of  the  church. 

It  is  remarkable,  at  the  very  beginning  of  Calvin's  answer,  how 
powerfully  he  was  impelled  by  his  conscience  to  defend  the  church 
by  which  he  had  been  banished.  ':  Although  I  am  no  longer  per- 
mitted to  exercise  my  office  there,  this  shall  not  prevent  me  from 
upholding  its  faith  and  constancy.  How  can  I  fail  of  anxiety  for 
this  city  of  Geneva,  from  which  I  can  never  divert  my  thoughts, 
and  which  I  love  no  less  than  my  own  soul  ?" 

Nor  should  we  leave  unpraised  the  urbanity  with  which  he 
treats  his  opponent.  He  had  resolved  to  do  so,  and  it  was  a  great 
thing  for  those  times,  to  say  nothing  better.  Alexander  Morns 
rightly  observes,  "He  who  would  know  the  force  and  beauty  of 
his  style,  should  read  his  answer  to  Sadolet.  No  one  can  do  this 
without  feeling  his  heart  touched,  or  without  becoming  better 
and  holier."  Calvin  expressed  in  this  composition  that  sacred 
feeling  of  duty  with  which  his  apostolic  office  had  impressed 
him. 

While  this  little  work  excites  admiration  by  the  elevated  char- 
acter of  the  ideas  which  it  contains,  and  by  the  beauty  of  its  latin* 
ity,  it  is  no  less  deserving  of  praise  for  the  clearness  and  sobriety 
of  its  sentiments.  But  the  style  of  Calvin's  French  translation  is 
harsh  and  disagreeable. 

The  commencement  refers  to  Sadolet's  mode  of  argument. 

"You  show  that  there  is  no  disorder  more  perilous  to  the  soul 
than  a  corrupted  religion  ;  that  the  church  affords  the  best  rule 
as  to  the  worship  of  God  ;  and  that,  consequently,  there  is  no  hope 
of  the  salvation  of  those  who  have  destroyed  the  unity  of  the 
church,  unless  they  repent.  But  you  afterwards  show,  that  a 
separation  from  your  unity  is  an  actual  apostasy,  and  lastly,  that 
the  Gospel  which  we  have  all  received  is  nothing  else  than  a 
medley  of  ungodly  theorems.  Hence  you  draw  the  conclusion, 
that  a  most  awful  judgment  must  await  those  who  do  not  obey 
your  words." 

Calvin  assents  to  the  proposition,  that  no  greater  danger  can 
threaten  our  salvation  than  a  corrupted  form  of  worship.  It  is 
not  a  newly  invented  service  which  the  disciples  of  Christ  should 
adopt,  but  that  which  has  been  consecrated  by  the  usage  of  the 
church   from    its   beginning.       "  Here,   Sadolctus,"    says  Calvin, 


A.D.   1539.]  THE    WORD    OF    GOD.  149 

"  you  have  afforded  me  a  proper  ground  for  my  defence  ;  for  if 
you  allow  that  when  the  truth  of  God  is  turned  by  false  views  of 
doctrine  to  a  lie,  it  carries  with  it  the  ruin  of  souls  ;  it  then  re- 
mains for  us  to  inquire  which  of  our  two  churches  has  retained 
the  only  true  form  of  divine  worship. 

"You  proceed  at  once  to  a  definition  of  the  church,  and  this 
might  have  led  you  into  the  right  track,  since  you  say,  that  is  the 
church  which  from  the  beginning,  and  in  all  lands,  has  continued 
the  same  in  Christ,  being  everywhere  and  at  all  times  conducted  by 
his  spirit.  But  where  are  we  to  look  for  the  Word  of  God  ?  Here 
verily  God  foresaw  how  dangerous  it  would  be  to  bestow  his  spirit 
without  a  written  word.  He  determined  indeed  that  the  church 
should  be  guided  by  the  spirit,  but  he  combined  this  guidance 
with  the  Word  of  God,  that  there  might  be  no  danger  of  its  ap- 
pearing wavering  and  uncertain.  And  you  will  see  this  not  only 
in  the  apostolic  epistles,  but  as  often  as  the  prophets  prophesy  of 
the  church,  which  shall  again  be  established,  or  spread  through 
the  whole  world,  they  invariably  refer  in  the  first  place  to  the 
Word." 

The  church,  therefore,  should  have  for  its  basis  the  Word  of 
God,  and  not  rest  in  general  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  only.  This  is 
the  great  principle  of  the  reformers,  which  Luther  so  justly  de- 
fended against  the  whole  tribe  of  fanatics,  and  which  proved  the 
intelligence,  clearness,  and  wisdom  of  their  perceptions. 

"  We  know  now  by  experience  how  necessary  this  warning 
was,  assailed  as  we  are  by  two  sects,  which  are  themselves  most 
opposite  to  each  other.  What  has  the  pope  in  common  with  the 
anabaptists?  yet  both  pursue  us  with  the  same  weapons;  and 
though  they  may  boast  of  the  spirit  of  God,  they  have  both  no 
other  object  than  that  of  suppressing  and  concealing  the  Word  of 
God  to  make  room  for  their  own  lies." 

Without  the  Word  of  God  a  man  fluctuates  to  and  fro  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  becomes  sometimes  a  papist,  sometimes  an  ana- 
baptist. "You  bring  punishment  upon  yourselves  for  this,  that 
you  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  dividing  him  from  the  Word, 
since  you  seem  obliged  to  act  as  if  inquirers  knew  not 
whether  they  should  follow  the  authority  of  the  church,  or 
hearken  to  those  whom  you  call  teachers  of  new  doctrines.  If 
you  knew  that  the  spirit  enlightens  the  church,  in  order  to  open 
(he  Word  of  God  to  it,  and  that  this  Word  is  as  a  test,  whereby 
all  doctrines  may  be  tried,  would  you  have  had  recourse  to  this 
difficult  discussion  ?     Know  this  then  by  your  own  experience. 


15(1  PROPER    DUALITIES    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CHAP.  XI. 

that  it  is  not  less  injurious  to  boast  of  the  .Spirit  without  the 
Word,  than  it  would  he  absurd  to  appeal  to  the  Word  without  the 
Spirit. 

"If  now  you  are  willing  to  accept  a  definition  of  the  church 
which  is  more  agreeable  to  the  truth,  say,  that  it  is  a  community 
of  all  saints,  extending  over  the  whole  world,  aud  through  all 
ayes,  but  that,  being  united  by  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  by  one 
spirit,  it  desires  unity  of  faith  and  brotherly  concord.  "We  deny 
that  we  have  had  even  the  slightest  dispute  with  this  church;  on 
the  contrary,  we  reverence  it  as  a  mother,  and  have  no  other 
wish  than  that  of  remaining  in  its  bosom." 

The  catholic  beholds  the  church  in  the  unity  of  the  faith 
through  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  protestant  views  it  in  the  commu- 
nion of  believers,  who  are  bound  together  in  faith  and  love 
through  the  Word  aud  the  Spirit .  The  difference  therefore  be- 
tween the  two  definitions  consists  in  the  reference  to  the  Word 
of  God. 

"  You  are  well  aware.  Sadolet,  that  we  are  not  only  in  more 
exact  harmony  with  the  primitive  church  than  you,  but  that  we 
strive  for  nothing  else  than  the  restoration  of  the  church  to  its 
primitive  condition." 

The  perfection  of  the  church  depends  upon  three  principal 
points,  doctrine,  discipline,  sacraments  ;  it  may  be  added,  fourth- 
ly, on  its  having  a  form  of  worship  calculated  to  impress  the  peo- 
ple with  pious  sentiments.  This  general  statement  is  followed 
by  a  criticism  on  the  catholic  church,  and  by  a  eulogy  on  the 
protestant  church  in  reference  to  these  four  points. 

Calvin  says  of  the  papacy,  that  it  has  neither  the  doctrine  of 
Christ,  nor  discipline,  sacraments,  nor  proper  ceremonies.  He 
attacks,  in  the  first  place,  its  doctrine  of  justification  through  good 
works,  and  shows  in  what  sense  the  protestants  still  uphold 
works.  His  idea  of  faith  was,  that  the  authority  which  the 
catholic  church  assumed  to  itself  was  not  necessary  in  the  va- 
riety of  opinions  which  prevailed,  because  the  Christian  believes 
in  a  God  who  enlightens  us  by  his  spirit,  and  gives  peace  to  our 
consciences  by  his  sure  witness.  ••This  is  the  confidence  of 
which  Paul  speaks  to  us;  this  too  is  the  ground  of  the  authority 
which  the  chinch  possesses  to  judge  of  the  truth.  However 
many  opinions  there  may  be  in  the  world,  the  genuine  Chris- 
tum will  always  find  his  right  path.  I  do  not  dream  of  that 
exactness  in  die  knowledge  of  the  truth  which  never  errs, 
and   may  assume  to  itself  the   privilege  of  proudly  despising  all 


A.D.  1539.]  REPLY    TO    ACCUSERS.  151 

around  it.  Far  less  ought  it  to  be  supposed  that  believers  can 
comprehend  all  mysteries,  and  remain  blind  in  the  clearest  things. 
I  insist  on  this  only,  that  if  they  thoroughly  examine  the  Word 
of  God,  they  can  never  so  err  as  to  perish.  The  truth  which  that 
Word  gives  them  is  so  certain  and  so  distinct,  that  it  can  never  be 
destroyed  either  by  men  or  angels." 

It  is  next  observed,  that  as  the  Holy  Ghost  is  with  the  church, 
the  church  would  never  fail  to  find  the  way  of  salvation  if  its  will 
continued  good  ;  and  that  the  assembled  clergy  would  be  always 
able  to  judge  respecting  error  without  the  help  of  papal  authority. 
Calvin  then  defends  the  protestant  church  against  the  charge  of 
levity.  "  We  have  always  wished  that  the  discipline  of  the  old 
church  law  had  been  retained  among  us.  Discipline  is  necessary 
to  hold  the  church  together,  as  the  body  is  by  its  nerves.  But 
where  is  your  discipline?" 

This  is  followed  by  a  passage  in  which  he  justifies  his  own  sep- 
aration from  the  Roman  church.  The  whole  is  in  the  highest  de- 
gree interesting,  because  it  enables  us  to  understand  how  Calvin 
justified  his  separation  in  his  own  eyes,  and  because  the  mere  act 
of  separation  itself  still  keeps  back  many  evangelical  catholics. 
Sadoletus  had  summoned  him  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God: 
Calvin  summons  him  to  the  same  tribunal. 

"Let  our  ears  listen  for  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  which  shall 
awaken  the  dead.  Let  our  souls  and  spirits  watch  for  the  Judge, 
who  by  the  light  of  his  countenance  will  disclose  all  that  lies  hid- 
den in  darkness,  who  will  reveal  all  the  secrets  of  men's  hearts, 
and  will  consume  the  wicked  by  the  breath  of  his  mouth.  Con- 
sider now  what  you  will  have  to  answer  for  yourself  and  for  your 
party.  Our  cause,  supported  as  it  is  by  truth,  will  not  fail  of  a 
righteous  defence.  As  for  ourselves,  we  will  not  contend,  but  will 
seek  salvation  in  humble  confession  and  earnest  prayer.  For  our 
office  we  will  not  plead,  for  there  will  be  no  one  who  will  not  be 
able  to  speak  of  this. 

"Difficult  has  it  been  for  me,  O  Lord  !  to  meet  the  hatred  of 
my  accusers  upon  earth  ;  but  I  approach  thy  judgment-seat  with 
unfailing  trust,  for  with  Thee  is  truth  ;  and  established  upon  this 
alone  have  I  been  able  to  labor.  I  am  accused  of  a  twofold 
crime,  of  heresy  and  schism.  My  heresy  in  their  eyes  is  this, — 
I  have  not  adopted  the  principles  which  they  espouse.  But 
what  should  I  do?  From  thine  own  mouth  I  learned  that  there 
is  no  other  light  of  (ruth  to  conduct  us  on  the  path  of  life, 
but  that  which  thy  Word  has   kindled.     I  heard   that  all  which 


152  REPLY  TO  ACCUSERS.  [CHAP.  XI. 

the  human  spirit  had  discovered  by  its  own  ability  merely,  re- 
specting thy  glory,  the  honor  clue  to  thy  name,  and  the  mys- 
teries of  faith,  was  only  vanity.  When  I  looked  at  men.  I  found 
them  all  differing  about  thy  Word.  Those  who  ought  to  have 
been  the  guides  of  faith,  either  did  not  understand  thy  Word  or 
troubled  themselves  little  about  it.  They  introduced  strange 
doctrines,  and  deceived  the  wretched  people :  they  called  Thee 
(lie  only  God.  but  they  created  as  many  gods  as  they  could  dis- 
cover saints.  That  I  became  aware  of  this,  I  ascribe,  O  Lord  ! 
to  the  light  which  1  received  through  thine  own  spirit.  Thou 
hast  held  thy  word  before  me  as  a  torch  ;  Thou  hast  deeply  pos- 
sessed my  soul  that  I  might  shun  all  these  things.  If  I  be  called 
upon  to  give  an  account  of  my  doctrine,  my  conscience  tells  me 
that  I  have  never  forsaken  the  line  which  Thou  hast  prescribed 
to  all  thy  servants.  What  I  therefore  have  believed  myself  to  re- 
ceive from  thine  own  mouth,  that  have  I  with  all  faithfulness  de- 
sired to  give  again  to  the  church.  To  this  end  have  all  my  con- 
tentions, all  my  labors,  tended,  that  thy  glory  and  thy  righteous- 
ness, and  the  mercies  of  Christ  might  be  made  known  ;  for  impos- 
sible it  is  that  that  Word  should  deceive  us,  that  '  this  is  the  eter- 
nal life,  to  know  Thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom 
Thou  hast  sent.' 

"With  regard  now  to  the  accusation  which  I  have  been  com- 
pelled to  hear  so  frequently,  that  I  am  an  apostate  from  the 
church,  my  conscience  accuses  me  not,  unless  he  ought  to  be 
called  a  traitor  who,  when  he  sees  the  soldiers  in  a  battle  leave 
their  ranks  and  take  to  flight,  seizes  the  standard,  and  raising  it 
on  high  calls  them  back  to  the  fight.  Thy  people,  O  Lord  !  at 
that  time  were  all  dispersed:  I  raised  not  a  strange  standard, 
but  thine  own  glorious  ensign.  Here  however  have  they  begun 
to  rage,  so  that  the  contest  has  been  converted  into  a  schism. 
On  which  side  the  sin  is,  do  Thou,  O  Lord,  determine  !  Often 
have  I,  by  word  and  deed,  evinced  how  desirous  I  am  to  preserve 
unity;  but  that  is  tome  the  right  unity  which  has  its  begin- 
ning and  its  end  in  Thee.  Whenever  Thou  hast  commanded  us  to 
preserve  peace  and  unity,  Thou  hast  also  taught  us  that  Thou 
alone  art  the  bond  of  this  unity.  But  to  continue  in  peace  with 
those  who  pretend  to  be  the  rulers  of  the  church  and  the  pillars 
ol  the  faith,  I  must  have  purchased  it.  at  the  expense  of  denying 
thy  truth.  All  danger  however  would  have  been  preferable  to  in- 
curring the  guilt  of  yielding  to  such  a  condition  ;  for  Christ  has 
told    us,    :  Though  heaven  and    earth  pass  away,  yet  shall   not 


a.d.  1539.]       calvin's  faith  and  resolution.  153 

my  Word  pass  away.'  I  did  not  therefore  consider  that  I  was 
apostatizing  from  thy  church,  because  I  contended  against  these 
oppressors ;  for  Thou  didst  warn  us  by  tby  Son,  that  leaders  of 
the  church  would  arise  with  whom  we  must  not  be  of  one  mind. 
It  was  not  said  of  strangers,  but  of  the  pastors  themselves,  that 
they  would  be  ravening  wolves,  of  whom  we  must  beware.  How 
then  could  I  give  the  hand  of  fellowship  to  such  ?  I  saw  con- 
tinually before  my  eyes  the  example  of  thy  prophets,  who  had  to 
carry  on  so  many  struggles  with  the  priests  of  their  time,  and 
with  the  false  prophets,  who,  we  well  know,  were  the  guides  and 
rulers  of  the  church  in  Israel.  But  thy  holy  prophets  were  not 
considered  schismatics,  because  they  sought  to  restore  the  fallen 
religion,  and  would  not  yield  to  them,  notwithstanding  all  their 
pretensions  to  power.  They  remained  therefore  in  the  true  unity 
of  the  church,  although  pursued  by  the  wicked  priests  with  every 
conceivable  kind  of  anathemas,  and  when  regarded  as  unworthy 
of  a  place  among  men,  much  more  of  being  ranked  among  the 
holy.  Confirmed  by  this  example  I  have  pursued  my  way  so  un- 
disturbed, that  neither  threatenings  nor  the  accusation  of  apostasy 
have  been  able  to  alarm  me  from  boldly  opposing  them.  My 
conscience  bears  witness  with  what  zeal  I  have  sought  to  promote 
the  unity  of  thy  church,  if  thy  truth  alone  be  the  bond  of  peace. 
The  agitations  which  have  thence  arisen  cannot  properly  be 
charged  to  my  account,  for  it  is  not  I  who  have  excited  them. 
Thou  knowest,  O  Lord,  and  men  know  it,  that  I  have  sought 
nothing  so  much  as  the  quieting  of  all  strife  through  thy  Word. 
Yea,  I  would  have  risked  my  life  itself  to  restore  peace  to  the 
church.  But  what  has  been  the  conduct  of  our  adversaries  ? 
Have  they  not  every  instant  been  hurrying  to  kindle  the  pile, 
to  plant  the  cross,  to  draw  the  sword  in  their  wrath  ?  Have 
they  not  rejected  every  means  of  establishing  peace?  Hence  it 
has  arisen,  that  a  circumstance  which  might  have  been  em- 
ployed to  friendly  purposes  has  ministered  fuel  to  this  fire  ;  and 
although  in  the  midst  of  this  confusion  men  have  judged  us  in 
very  different  ways,  I  am  freed  from  all  fear,  standing  as  we  now 
do  before  thy  judgment-seat,  where  alone  righteousness  and 
truth  together  can  judge  us  according  to  our  conscience  and  in- 
tegrity." 

We  can  see  from  this  passage,  with  what  a  good  conscience 
he  had  taken  the  step  which  has  cost  many  an  awakened  soul,  in 
our  own  times,  so  severe  a  struggle.     It  also  shows  us,  how  he 


151  calvin's  faith  and  resolution.       [chap.  XI. 

already  regarded  himself,  although  still  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  as  a  leader  of  the  protestant  party.  No  one  could  have 
stood  forth  with  greater  confidence  than  that  which  he  expressed 
in  the  words.  "I  have  raised  the  banner  of  Christ,  when  his  peo- 
ple were  scattered."" 

The  justification  of  the  laity,  who  had  joined  the  reformers, 
here  follows  :  it  is  mainly  founded  upon  the  principle,  that  they 
could  not.  accomplish  their  salvation  without  the  Word  of  God, 
which  had  been  taken  from  them.  The  errors  of  Romanism  are 
again  referred  to  God's  tribunal ;  and  Calvin  describes  the  terrors 
of  conscience  which  he  suffered  till  he  knew  the  grace  of  God. 

"  With  you,  Sadolet,  the  salvation  of  mankind  hangs  entirely 
upon  this  single  thread,  that  they  continue  in  the  religion  which 
they  have  received  from  their  fathers.  But  according  to  this 
reasoning,  all  Jews  and  Saracens  who  die  in  their  particular 
belief  are  saved."'  An  answer  is  then  given  to  the  accusation 
brought  against  the  protestant  preachers  respecting  their  sup- 
posed avarice  and  ambition,  and  their  resistance  to  all  authority, 
with  the  very  just  remark,  that  there  was  strife  in  the  catholic 
church,  and  not  uninterrupted  peace,  even  before  the  reforma- 
tion. The  conclusion  runs  thus: — "May  God  grant  then,  O 
Sadolet,  that  you  and  your  associates  may  perceive  that  there  is 
no  bond  of  unity  except  as  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  reconciled 
us  to  God  the  Father,  delivers  us  from  this  tumult,  and  unites 
us  in  the  communion  of  his  mystical  body,  that  through  his  own 
Word  and  spirit  we  may  grow  together  in  one  heart  and  in  one 
soul." 

We  must  here  observe,  as  that  which  is  very  remarkable  in  the 
development  of  Calvin's  spirit,  the  deep,  inward  feeling  which  he 
had  of  his  responsibility  as  to  the  care  of  souls,  from  the  moment 
of  his  accepting  the  pastoral  office.  He  had  already  spoken  three 
times  on  this  subject:  first,  in  the  preface  to  the  catechism  (1538), 
in  which  he  describes  the  anguish  of  his  soul  when  the  time  came 
for  his  administering  the  Lord's  Supper  at  Geneva  ;  secondly,  in 
the  letter  to  Roux.  in  which  he  so  powerfully  admonishes  preach- 
ers;  and  lastly,  here  in  his  reply  to  Sadolet.  His  conduct  towards 
Geneva  shows  how  strongly  he  felt  his  responsibility  as  a  pastor. 
We  may  also  quote  to  the  same  purport,  the  passage  in  his  first 
letter  to  Geneva,  where  he  describes  how  the  teachers  of  the  Gos- 
pel ought  to  be  esteemed,  since  they  derive  their  office  not  from 
man.  but  from  God. 


A.D.  1539.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    STATE    OF    AFFAIRS.  155 

Convinced  of  the  divine  nature  of  his  calling,  to  awaken  and 
deliver  souls  was  for  him,  as  for  Luther,  a  duty  to  which  he  had 
bound  himself  by  an  oath  upon  the  Bible. 

Another  remarkable  passage  in  reference  to  the  duty  of  preach- 
ers, and  fidelity  to  their  calling,  but  of  a  later  date,  is  found  in  the 
Commentary  to  Ezekiel,  iii.  18.  "When  I  say  unto  the  wicked, 
thou  shalt  surely  die,  and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  the  same 
wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity  ;  but  his  blood  will  I  require 
at.  thiue  hand."  He  here  shows  how  perilous  an  office  is  under- 
taken by  those  who  are  called  to  teach.  "Nothing  is  more  pre- 
cious in  the  sight  of  God  than  souls,  which  He  created  after  his 
own  image,  and  whose  Father  and  Redeemer  He  is.  But  know- 
ing the  worth  of  souls,  and  their  salvation,  in  his  sight,  we  may 
easily  understand  how  careful  prophets  and  preachers  should  be 
in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  It  is  as  if  God  entrusted  souls 
to  their  keeping,  under  the  condition  that  they  must  give  an  ac- 
count of  every  one  of  them  so  committed  to  their  care.  Hence  it 
is  not  sufficient  for  them  to  admonish  this  or  that  one.  We  hear 
how  God  threatens  them,  if  they  strive  not  to  bring  all  from  the 
ways  of  wickedness  to  those  of  life." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

JOURNEY    TO     FRANKFORT. — FIRST    INTERVIEW    WITH 
MELANCTHON. 

Calvin  was  present  at  the  convention  in  Frankfort  in  1539  ; 
and  in  the  following  year  at  that  in  Hagenau  and  Worms  ;  at  the 
last  not  simply  as  the  companion  of  Bucer,  but  as  the  envoy  of 
the  city  of  Strasburg.     He  was  subsequently  at  Ratisbon. 

It  was  before  the  letter  to  Sadolet  was  finished,  that  we  find 
him  setting  out  on  this  journey,  of  which  some  notice  exists  in 
letters  written  during  the  March  and  April  of  this  year.  A  pass- 
age out  of  a  manuscript  letter  from  Geneva  shows  that  Calvin 
had  already  seen  Melancthon  at  Frankfort.  He  had  laid  before 
him  several  propositions  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  to  examine  what 
difference  of  opinion  existed  between  them.  "  Ere  he  answered 
my  inquiries,"  says  Calvin,  "  we  met  each  other  at  Frankfort  ; 
and  he  proved  to  me  that  his  meaning  was  no  other  than  that 


156  calvin's  journey  to  fuankfort.      [chap.  xii. 

which  my  words  expressed."  But  this  near  relation  which  was 
beginning  to  exist  between  Calvin  and  Melancthon  was  some 
time  after  disturbed. 

The  following  letters  contain  some  classical  passages  on  Me- 
lancthon, and  which  show  how,  high  as  he  then  stood  above  all 
parties,  he  had  adopted  a  correct  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  that 
he  agreed  altogether  with  Calvin,  and  only  remained  a  Lutheran 
out  of  love  to  peace,  freely  pouring  out  his  whole  heart  in  quiet 
conversation.  We  learn  also  from  the  same  source  the  difficul- 
ties which  the  reformers  had  now  to  encounter  in  respect  to  dis- 
cipline. 

Calvin  after  the  journey  to  Frankfort  returned  to  Strasburg, 
from  which  city  he  thus  wrote  to  Farel,  March  16,  1539. 

"I  had  no  thought  of  this  journey  till  the  day  before  1  set  out. 
Having  learnt  however  from  Bucer's  letters  that  he  could  do  no- 
thing fur  our  persecuted  brethren,  I  immediately  conceived  the 
wish  to  take  this  journey,  that  nothing  might  seem  neglected  in 
regard  to  the  safety  of  the  brethren,  as  is  so  often  the  case  in  a 
mass  of  business;  and  that  I  might  converse  with  Philip  on  reli- 
gion and  the  church.  Both  reasons  will  seem  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance to  you.  Capito  and  the  others  also  persuaded  me  ; 
and  to  this  may  he  added,  that  the  journey  was  to  be  made  in 
most  agreeable  society,  Sturmius  and  many  other  dear  friends  be- 
ing our  companions/' 

The  following  also  was  addressed  to  Farel  in  March,  1539. 
"The  emperor's  ambassador  ventured  to  propose  such  hard  con- 
ditions, that  it  wanted  but  little  to  excite  another  appeal  to  the 
sword.  He  insisted  upon  ours  separating  themselves  from  the 
sacramentarians.  See  the  art  of  the  devil !  He  is  not  only 
seeking  to  nourish  those  old  causes  of  hatred  which  he  formerly 
sowed  among  us,  but  to  add  new  grievances,  like  burning 
torches,  in  order  to  create  still  greater  divisions.  But  we  recog- 
nize no  sacramentarians,  and  would  live  in  harmony  with  the 
Swiss  churches.  The  emperor  therefore  desisted,  and  all  was 
so  managed  that  a  truce  was  agreed  upon.  God  grant  that  it 
may  1m-  useful  to  the  church  !  For  my  own  part,  I  expect  little 
from  it.  The  elector  of  Saxony  is  of  the  Bame  mind,  and  believes 
that  necessity  will  force  us  into  war.  Against  all  expectation, 
the  landgraf  declares  himself  disinclined  to  war;  and  although 
In-  would  not  hold  hack,  if  he  saw  others  go  forward,  yet  has  he 
disheartened  those  who  place  their  main  confidence  in  his  lively 
and  generous  courage.      We  are  now  to  employ  our    thoughts 


A.U.  1539.]  CALVIN    AND    MELANCTHON.  157 

upon  the  truce,  during  which  both  parties  will  look  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  peace  and  union.  But  the  enemy  will  do  nothing  but 
watch  for  a  favorable  moment  to  commence  war  ....  I  have  had 
a  long  conversation  with  Philip ;  having  written  to  him  before  on 
the  subject  of  our  union,  and  sent  him  some  articles,  containing 
the  substance  of  our  doctrine.  He  has  assented  to  them  without 
exception,  but  confesses  that  there  are  those  who  desire  something 
stronger,  and  with  such  obstinacy,  not  to  say  tyranny,  that  he 
was  for  a  long  time  viewed  with  suspicion,  because  they  saw  that 
he  somewhat  wavered  in  respect  to  their  opinions.  Although  he 
does  not  believe  that  an  actual  union  can  be  accomplished,  yet  he 
anxiously  desires  that  the  present  agreement,  whatever  it  be,  may 
be  retained,  till  the  Lord  bring  both  parties  to  the  unity  of  his 
truth.  So  far  as  he  is  concerned,  do  not  doubt  but  that  he  thinks 
as  we  do. 

"It  would  take  too  much  time  to  tell  you  on  what  we  have 
further  spoken :  this  will  one  day  or  the  other  furnish  us  matter 
for  a  pleasant  conversation.  When  the  discourse  turned  upon  dis- 
cipline, he  sighed,  as  all  the  others  did  ;  the  melancholy  condition 
of  the  church  in  this  respect  provoking  tears  rather  than  the 
hope  of  its  improvement.  But  let  us  not  believe  to  suffer  only. 
Every  day  brings  forth  new  circumstances,  which  are  calculated 
to  excite  in  every  one  the  desire  of  improvement.  Thus  a  short 
time  ago,  a  worthy  and  learned  man  was  banished  from  Ulm,  with 
ridicule  and  disgrace,  because  he  could  no  longer  look  patiently 
upon  vice  ;  all  his  colleagues  gave  him  a  most  honorable  farewell. 
That  which  occurred  at  Augsburg  was  not  of  a  more  cheerful 
character.  It  has  hence  become  a  jest  to  deprive  the  clergy 
of  their  office  and  to  drive  them  into  exile ;  and  this  evil  is  not 
to  be  controlled,  for  neither  people  nor  princes  are  willing  to 
distinguish  between  the  yoke  of  Christ  and  the  tyranny  of  the 
pope.  Philip  therefore  is  of  opinion  that  nothing  better  can  be 
done,  in  such  tempestuous  times,  than  to  yield  in  some  measure 
to  the  storm  ;  and  he  encourages  the  hope  that,  if  we  only  pre- 
serve a  little  more  tranquillity  before  the  outward  enemy,  the 
favorable  time  will  come  for  directing  our  attention  to  internal 
improvement.  Capito  calls  God  and  man  to  witness,  and  swears 
by  heaven  and  earth,  that  the  church  is  lost,  unless  it  be  quick- 
ly delivered  from  such  afflictions,  and  as  he  cannot  perceive 
that  any  progress  is  made  towards  improvement,  he  wishes 
himself  dead.  But  if  the  Lord  himself  has  called  us,  as  we 
cannot  doubt  He  has,  He  will  not  fail  to  give  us   his  blessing, 


VIEWS    OF    CHURCH    PROPERTY.  [CHAP.  XII. 

however  much  we  may  be  opposed.  Let  us  therefore  leave  no 
means  untried ;  and  if  all  fail,  yet  let  us  continue  the  struggle  even 
to  our  latest  breath.  When  I  see  that  you  so  distress  yourself.  I 
wish  myself  with  you.  to  give  you  consolation." 

The  following  is  addressed  to  Farel,  and  dated  March  16.  from 
Slrasburg. 

"With  regard  to  church  property,  would  that  I  could  promise 
you  any  better  news,  though  things  are  not  at  the  worst.  Bucer 
perseveres  with  so  much  resolution,  that  he  appears  to  have 
effected  something.  Philip  alarmed  him  at  first  with  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  attempt,  but  he  could  not  restrain  him.  It  seems 
however  exceedingly  hard  to  prevent  the  princes  from  thinking 
that  this  is  their  affair,  since  they  manage  the  property  of  the 
church  according  to  their  own  opinion.  Some  indeed  are  very 
angry  at  finding  that  they  are  likely  to  lose  a  booty  which  they 
had  begun  to  regard  as  their  own.  Others,  although  they  have  no 
loss  to  fear,  cannot  be  easily  induced  to  run  the  risk  of  exposing 
themselves  to  the  hatred  of  an  order  which,  as  you  know,  is  so 
powerful  in  Germany.  Bucer  has  shaped  a  proposal,  grounded 
on  the  ancient  custom  of  the  church,  by  which  both  the  church 
itself  might  be  helped  and  the  peace  of  the  empire  preserved. 
\>  the  possessions  which  the  canons  now  enjoy  were  bequeath- 
ed under  the  condition,  that  they  should  be  administered  by 
directors  (comites),  he  proposes  that  a  college  should  be  insti- 
tuted,-consisting  of  members  chosen  from  the  nobility,  to  whom 
the  property  of  the  church  should  be  committed  in  trust.  But 
such  persons  should  be  neither  priests  nor  canons,  but  married 
persons  (conjures),  pledged  to  the  church,  simply  by  their  own 
promise  to  contend  for  its  peace  with  all  the  power  they  have. 
Since  the  bishop  is  the  first  person  in  the  state,  and  this  digit  it  \ 
could  not  be  abolished  without  disturbing  the  empire,  he  ((in- 
siders that  what  has  once  before  been  done  might  again  Ik; 
adopted,  and  that  in  the  place  of  the  bishop  some  member  of 
such  ;i  collegium  comiticm  might  be  named,  to  whom  the  pos- 
sessions now  pertaining  to  the  bishops  might  be  entrusted,  and 
who  might  have  the  title  of  Vicedominns.  because  he  would  be 
rather  the  steward  than  the  master  of  the  property.  Hi-  office 
would  consist  in  defending  the  church  where  it  was  most  avail- 
able ;ui(]  to  which  duty  he  would  be  bound  by  a  solemn  oath. 
The  remaining  revenues  must  be  devoted  to  better  ptfrpose-s 
'I1  '"  'lie  maintenance  of  prebends.  Among  these  better  pur- 
poses I  reckon  (be  support  of  preachers,  schools,  charities  for  the 


A. D.  1539.]  PROCEEDINGS    AT    THE    DIET.  159 

poor,  and  other  expenses  of  the  chinch.  If  we  gain  this  point,  we 
shall  effect  as  much  as  is  possible  in  these  distracted  times.  We 
have  hope,  and  great  hope,  that  the  princes  will  attend  to  this 
proposition.  The  states  which  see  their  revenues  so  wilfully 
squandered,  will  do  all  in  their  power  to  support  it." 

After  describing  the  diet,  and  passing  his  opinion  on  the 
princes,  expressing  himself  with  German  patriotism,  he  adds, 
"  The  main  thing  desired  by  the  emperor  was,  that  learned, 
candid  men,  not  lovers  of  strife,  should  meet  together  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  the  principal  points  in  dispute  ;  that  the 
subject  should  then  be  referred  to  the  diet,  and  that  thus  the 
reformation  of  the  German  church  might  be  accomplished 
according  to  the  wish  of  all  classes.  A  truce  for  a  year  was 
determined  on,  to  accomplish  this  design.  Our  friends  are  not 
contented  with  this  short  truce,  but  wish  for  something  more 
secure.  Thus  everything  with  regard  to  our  affairs  is  still  in 
uncertainty.  We  are  not  yet  free  from  the  danger  of  war,  if  the 
emperor  proceeds.  The  king  of  England  has  requested  that 
new  ambassadors  may  be  sent  to  his  court,  and  that  Philip 
may  accompany  them  ;  that  he  may  have  some  adviser,  and  so 
may  be  better  able  to  regulate  the  constitution  of  the  church. 
There  was  no  doubt  that  they  would  constitute  a  deputation  ;  but 
they  would  not  send  Melancthon,  because  they  mistrusted  the 
too  great  mildness  of  his  disposition.  He  is  however  consistent, 
and  does  not  hide  his  sentiments.  I  have  had  his  most  solemn 
assurance  that  the  fear  entertained  of  him  was  groundless  ;  and 
certainly,  as  I  believe  I  thoroughly  understand  his  feelings,  I 
should  not  be  more  afraid  to  trust  him  than  Bucer,  if  we  are 
to  act  with  those  who  would  wish  to  have  anything  left  to  them- 
selves. Bucer  burns  with  so  ardent  a  desire  to  spread  the 
Gospel,  that  he  is  not  contented  with  urging  less  than  the 
main  points,  and  hence  is  too  negligent  in  such  as  appear  to 
him  of  inferior  importance,  although  they  have  their  weight. 
The  king  himself  is  but  half  instructed  in  these  things  ;  he  not 
only  prohibits  priests  and  bishops  from  marrying,  by  very  severe 
ordinances,  and  by  degradation  from  their  office,  but  he  retains 
the  daily  mass ;  he  upholds  the  seven  sacraments,  and  has  only 
the  mere  shadow  of  the  Gospel, — a  piece  of  patchwork,  a  church 
stuffed  with  puppets, — and,  to  proclaim  the  weakness  of  his 
brain  to  all,  he  will  not  allow  a  translation  of  the  Scriptures  to 
be  circulated  in  his  kingdom,  and  has  issued  a  new  proclamation 
forbidding  the   people  from  reading   the   Bible.     But  to  let  you 


160  CALVIN    ON    CEREMONIES.  [cHAP.  XII. 

know  that  he  is  not  doing  this  in  jest,  he  has  lately  caused  a  good 
and  learned  man  to  be  burnt,  because  he  denied  the  bodily  pres- 
ence of  Christ  in  the  bread.  The  death  of  this  excellent  person 
is  greatly  lamented  by  all  pious  and  learned  men  ;  but  excited  as 
our  friends  are  at  the  intelligence  of  this  iniquitous  proceeding, 
they  cease  not  to  feel  an  interest  in  his  kingdom." 

The  following  is  extracted  from  a  letter  to  Farel,  dated  April, 
1539. 

"I  told  Philip  to  his  face,  a  short  time  ago,  that  the  great 
number  of  ceremonies  displeased  me  very  much,  and  that  they 
seemed  to  border  upon  Judaism.  When  I  pressed  him  with  my 
arguments,  he  would  not  contest  the  point,  or  deny  that  they  had 
a  great  deal  too  many  of  these  outward  things,  which  were  either 
unmeaning  or  useless;  'But,'  he  remarked,  'we  were  obliged 
to  yield  this  to  the  obstinacy  of  the  canonists  there,  who  clung 
to  the  old  customs.'  The  conclusion  of  the  whole  was,  that 
Luther  had  no  greater  love  for  the  ceremonies  which  they  were 
compelled  to  retain,  than  he  had  for  our  too  great  simplicity. 
"Would  to  God  that  the  worthy  N.  had  been  really  aware  how 
much  uprightness  there  is  in  Philip  !  he  would  then  most  un- 
doubtedly have  quickly  given  up  any  suspicion  of  treachery. 
That  Bueer  has  always  defended  Luther's  ceremonies,  does  not 
arise  from  his  affection  towards  them,  or  because  he  wishes  to 
introduce  them.  Nothing  can  induce  him  to  admit  the  Latin 
chanting;  he  has  also  a  horror  of  images;  the  other  things  he 
partly  regards  with  contempt,  or  with  indifference.  There  is 
however  no  reason  to  fear  that  what  has  once  been  abolished 
will  be  ever  restored  ;  Bucer's  only  desire  is  that  we  should  not 
separate  from  Luther  on  account  of  these  altogether  trivial 
outward  usages.  That  cause  of  the  dispute  is  certainly  in  my 
opinion  not  very  rational ;  there  is  nothing  in  the  league  with 
the  Germans  which  can  offend  a  pious  heart:  why  do  they  not, 
I  ask,  combine  the  forces  which  the  Lord  has  given  them  for  the 
common  defence  of  the  Gospel?  The  emperor  wishes  that  the 
church  property  should  continue  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy  till 
the  termination  of  the  truce.  Our  friends  assent  to  this,  on  the 
condition  that  provision  be  made  for  the  schools  and  churches, 
and  on  this  they  insist  without  variation.  But  what  will  you 
say,  when  1  tell  you  of  the  noble  resolution  of  this  city?  On  our 
being  made  acquainted  with  the  conditions  proposed  by  the 
emperor,  that  the  covenants  entered  into  after  the  assembly  at 
Nuremberg   should   be   regarded    as   null,    and    that    no   others 


a.d.  1539.]    calvin's  controversy  with  caroli.  161 

should  be  entered  into  by  our  friends,  but  that  both  parties  should 
preserve  their  position  till  the  German  church,  according  to  a  too 
common  mode  of  speaking-,  had  reformed  itself, — a  decree  of  the 
senate  was  immediately  passed,  in  which  the  members  declared, 
that  they  would  sooner  see  their  wives  and  children  murdered 
before  their  eyes,  all  their  possessions  and  goods  destroyed,  and 
their  city  burnt  to  the  ground,  yea,  die  even  to  the  last  man,  than 
acknowledge  this  law,  so  calculated  to  stop  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel.  Think,  dear  Farel,  whether  we  should  not  be  unjust  to 
such  a  people,  if  we  charged  them  with  idleness,  when  they  can 
neither  by  threats  nor  danger  be  brought  to  forsake  the  right  way 
even  a  finger's  breadth.  Thus  there  is  every  appearance  of  an 
approaching  conflict." 

We  have  now  to  speak  of  the  renewal  of  the  affair  with  Caroli, 
and  of  Calvin's  very  characteristic  conduct  on  the  occasion. 

Dr.  Caroli*  having  found  no  comfort  in  the  catholic  church,  to 
which  he  had  returned,  sought  again  the  evangelical  party.  Farel, 
according  to  his  truly  noble  disposition,  hoped  to  shame  this  man 
by  his  Christian  kindliness,  and,  though  he  had  been  charged  by 
him  as  the  greatest  of  heretics,  met  him  with  uncalculating  gene- 
rosity, and  received  him  at  once  into  the  church.  In  a  conference 
at  Nuremberg  he  spoke  to  him,  as  a  friend,  of  his  manifold  sins : 
Caroli  testified  repentance,  declared  his  renunciation  of  his  former 
errors,  and  acknowledged  the  doctrine  of  the  evangelical  party  as 
orthodox. 

But  the  Neufchatel  class  would  not  acknowledge  him  as  a 
brother,  and  Farel  was  blamed  for  his  mildness.  Those  of  Bern 
demanded  that  Caroli  should  make  a  formal  apology  for  his  con- 
duct. When  Caroli  proudly  rejected  such  a  reconciliation  with 
the  Bernese,  Farel  entreated  for  him  as  for  a  friend ;  he  sought 
to  gain  him  as  a  Christian.  Caroli  went  to  Strasburg,  but  con- 
ducted himself  there  in  so  unchristian  a  manner,  that  even  Farel's 
gentleness  could  no  longer  endure  it,  and  he  reproached  him 
accordingly.  Caroli  next  went  to  Metz,  where  he  still  con- 
tinued to  correspond  with  Farel  and  Calvin,  seeking  some  good 
appointment  through  their  influence.  Calvin  once  more  sought, 
both  by  mildness  and  severity,  to  accomplish  his  actual  con- 
version, but  to  no  purpose;  enmity,  darkness,  and  love  of  the 
world  filled  his  vain  heart.  He  again  reconciled  himself  to  the 
catholic  church,  sought  his  happiness  in  the  world,  and  died  in 

*  Kirchhofer,  t.  ii.  12. 
vol.  I. — 11 


162  calvin's  controversy  with  caroli.    [chap.  xii. 

an  hospital  at  Rome,  of  disorders  brought  on  by  his  licentious 
life.  Several  of  Calvin's  letters  refer  to  these  circumstances ;  I 
shall  extract  only  such  passages  as  seem  to  characterize  the 
writer. 

CALVIN    TO    FAREL.* 

"  Henry  came  yesterday  evening.  After  dinner  I  went  to  Bucer, 
and  read  him  your  letter  :  it  delighted  him  greatly,  especially 
when  he  saw  your  mildness  towards  Caroli.  He  acknowledges 
that  it  would  be  difficult  for  him  to  act  with  such  forbearance; 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  when  he  comes  to  Basel,  Grynaeus  will  give 
him  a  somewhat  harder  reception." 

CALVIN    TO    FAREL.t 

"I  have  not  been  inclined  to  write  till  the  business  with  Ca- 
roli was  settled.  My  friends  employed  themselves  about  it,  but 
it  greatly  annoyed  me.  Bucer  did  not  think  it  right  that  I 
should  take  part  in  any  discussion  till  there  was  some  prospect 
of  peace.  To  this  I  readily  gave  my  assent;  for  there  was  some 
fear  that  I  might  speak  a  little  too  severely,  and  so  give  occasion 
to  greater  disturbance.  It  was  also  well  that  he  might  have  free 
s$ope  to  rail  against  us.  As  far  as  I  can  learn,  they  began  with 
doctrine:  thus,  they  asked  him  whether  he  believed  that  there  was 
anything  in  our  preaching  injurious  to  the  faith  ?  They  then 
proceeded  to  speak  of  his  apostasy,  which  was  in  fact  the  knot 
of  the  whole  question.  He  sought  in  all  possible  ways  to  excuse 
himself,  and  pretended  that  he  acted  towards  us  from  the  be- 
ginning in  the  most  upright  manner,  not  at  once  accusing  us, 
but  desiring  us  as  a  friend  to  subscribe  the  three  creeds.  Not 
only,  he  said,  did  we  reject  this  proposal,  but  we  treated  the  creeds 
themselves  with  laughter  and  contempt,  notwithstanding  the 
respect  in  which  they  have  ever  been  held,  as  of  constant  author- 
ity in  the  church,  by  all  believers.  Our  friends  answered,  that 
this  at  least  could  have  been  no  reason  for  his  going  over  to 
the  papists.  At  last,  after  a  hard  conflict,  they  exhorted  him  to 
repentance.  When  I  was  summoned,  I  replied  to  every  one  of 
his  accusations,  and  described  the  whole  affair  from  the  be- 
ginning. With  regard  to  the  creeds,  our  defence  was  more 
difficult ;  for  it  seemed  wicked  in  us  to  reject  that  which  is  above 
all  contention,  and  which  is  recognized  by  the  consent  of  the 
universal  church.     But  it  was  easy  for  us  to  prove  that  we  did 

*  Sept.  1530.  MSS.  Gen.  \  Oct.  8,  1539.  Stras.  MSS.  Gen. 


a.d.  1539.]      calvin's  controversy  with  caroli.  163 

not  reject,  much  less  despise  them,  but  only  refused  subscription, 
that  lie  might  not  accomplish  that  which  he  had  in  his  mind,  a 
victory  over  our  authority  as  pastors.  Something  hateful  how- 
ever still  remained  behind." 

"  I  now  made  known  the  main  cause  of  the  whole  quarrel, 
and  described  it  in  such  order,  that  any  one  might  easily  see  that 
we  were  not  the  authors  of  the  evil.  Never  did  I  so  plainly  dis- 
cover how  our  friends  the  Bernese,  whom  you  know,  had  black- 
ened us  by  their  accusations.  Of  our  own  party,  there  was  not 
one  who  entertained  any  doubt  of  our  innocency.  Still  they 
pressed  me  on  the  subject  of  the  creeds,  and  on  our  refusing  to 
subscribe  them ;  this  however  did  no  harm,  and  we  stood  acquit- 
ted of  a  great  suspicion.  Notwithstanding,  they  one  and  all  dis- 
approved of  our  resolution.  All  this  took  place  in  the  absence  of 
Caroli.  Bucer  then  wished  me  to  write  down  all  that  in  which  he 
erred  ;  but  I  could  not  do  this,  for  he  always  found  some  means 
of  eluding  us,  or  of  softening  his  errors.  When  I  saw  that  I  did 
not  go  forward,  I  stated  that  I  would  not  accuse  him,  and  that  it 
would  be  sufficient  if  he  simply  confessed  from  his  heart  that  he 
had  erred. 

"Some  articles  were  then  set  forth,  on  many  points  of  which  he 
expressed  his  dissent,  and  which  at  his  request  were  struck  out. 
I  received  them,  as  thus  prepared,  late  in  the  night.  When  I 
read  them,  I  was  so  astonished,  that  I  cannot  remember  to  have 
felt  so  much  pain  this  whole  year.  The  next  morning  I  called 
Sturmius  to  me :  I  explained  to  him  the  cause  of  my  distress. 
He  spoke  with  Bucer :  they  begged  me  to  come  to  Matthias'  house, 
that  I  might  let  them  know  what  troubled  me  so  much.  Here  I 
greatly  sinned,  for  I  had  no  moderation.  Suppressed  indignation 
took  such  possession  of  my  spirit,  that  I  let  my  bitterness  stream 
out  on  all  sides  without  restraint. 

"And  there  would  indeed  have  been  good  cause  for  anger,  had 
I  but  acted  with  moderation.  I  complained,  that  when  every- 
thing was  finished  in  respect  to  Caroli,  and  the  affair  was  at  an 
end,  they  sent  me  these  articles  to  subscribe,  and  pronounced  them 
good  without  giving  me  a  hearing ;  that  they  had  already  formed 
their  own  conclusion,  and  now  demanded  my  assent,  which  if  I 
refused  they  would  account  me  an  enemy.  But  the  thing  which 
chiefly  moved  me  was,  that  Caroli  said  therein,  that  he  attributed 
to  the  Lord  those  sufferings  by  which  he  had  been  driven  tc 
apostatize. 

"  The  conclusion  of  my  speech  was,  that  I  would  rather  perish 


164  CALVIN    REPROACHES    FAREL.  [ciIAP.  XII. 

than  subscribe.  Such  was  the  auger  now  displayed  on  both  sides, 
that  I  could  not  have  been  more  severe  against  Caroli  himself, 
had  he  been  present.  At  length  I  ran  out  of  the  dining-room. 
Bucer  came  after  me,  and  having  softened  me  by  his  words,  re- 
turned to  the  rest.  I  said  that  I  would  still  consider  the  subject 
before  I  gave  my  last  answer.  When  I  came  home,  I  experienced 
a  most  violent  struggle,  and  had  no  other  consolation  than  sighs 
and  tears.  What  distressed  me  more  than  all  was,  that  you 
were  the  cause  of  these  sutlerings.  Again  and  again,  they 
objected  to  me  your  mildness,  and  the  readiness  with  which  you 
received  Caroli  into  friendship,  while  I  manifested  inexcusable 
obstinacy  in  refusing  to  be  moved  by  such  an  example.  Bucer 
assumed  all  possible  characters,  in  the  hope  of  softening  me; 
but  it  was  your  example  which  more  than  all  furnished  him  with 
arguments  against  me.  You  can  scarcely  defend  your  want  of 
thought,  or  too  great  facility,  and,  to  speak  plainly,  who  would 
not  wish  you  to  act  with  greater  earnestness,  resolution,  and 
sobriety  ? 

"Suffer  me  to  console  myself,  while  I  accuse  you  of  a  fault 
which  has  caused  me  so  much  suffering.  If  I  could  have  sum- 
moned you  to  me,  I  would  have  concentrated  against  you  the 
whole  of  the  anger  which  I  expended  upon  others.  When  I  was 
somewhat  collected,  I  called  Jacobus  to  me,  and  asked  him  what 
had  taken  place.  He  told  me  many  things  which  still  more  ex- 
cited me.  I  therefore  wished  the  passage  to  be  pointed  out  in 
which  he  cast  the  guilt  of  his  apostasy  upon  others,  and  that  the 
conditions  should  be  distinctly  stated  under  which  you  re-admitted 
him  into  the  church  at  Bonneville.  I  could  have  done  better,  had 
you  not  been  a  hindrance  to  me.  Attribute  it  to  yourself  there- 
fore if  things  go  wrong.  In  the  first  place,  you  were  reconciled 
to  him  without  that  reflection  which  ought  to  have  been  em- 
ployed ;  and  you  persuaded  yourself  to  act.  as  if  he  had  openly 
and  solemnly  confessed  his  sin  and  his  repentance.  In  the  next 
place,  you  have  not  plainly  stated  to  me  all  that  occurred.  Now, 
since  we  have  received  him  again,  we  must  treat  him  with  kind- 
ness ;  as  we  have  not  been  willing  to  reject  him,  we  must  (\o  all 
we  can  to  retain  him.  This  can  only  be  accomplished  by  your 
preventing  any  of  your  associates  from  showing  him  contempt. 
Continue  to  exercise  the  mildness  which  you  exhibited  so 
prematurely. 

"  As  I  know  you  do  not  distrust  my  asperity,  I  will  not  apolo- 
gize for  the  rudeness  with  which  I  treat  you. 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    TO    VIRET.  165 

"  With  respect  to  Sadolet's  letter,  do  what  you  please ;  only  let 
me  know  what  you  do.'' 

CALVIN    TO    FAREL.* 

"  Forgive  me,  my  beloved  brother,  that  I  have  written  nothing 
since  that  stormy  letter,  which  my  still  fresh  indignation  in 
its  first  glow  forced  from  me.  I  no  longer  know  exactly  what 
I  wrote  ;  but  this  I  know,  that  I  was  not  very  moderate,  for  the 
only  comfort  which  I  had  in  my  anguish  was  to  quarrel  with 
you,  who  by  your  inconsiderateness  had  exposed  me  to  this 
inconvenience.  Now  you  excuse  yourself,  long  and  broad,  as 
to  the  point  in  dispute;  but  although  you  seek  to  defend  what 
you  have  done,  your  only  true  defence  must  consist  in  renoun- 
cing it. 

"You  say  you  are  not  the  church  !  but  who  will  suppose  that 
you  express  anything  but  the  opinion  of  the  church  ?  On  what 
conditions  he  was  received,  you  will  see  by  the  acts.  What  I 
promised  him  I  will  fulfil,  if  he  remain  faithful  to  his  own  prom- 
ise :  if  he  prove  untrue,  then  I  am  free,  for  I  have  given  my  prom- 
ise conditionally." 

FROM    ONE    OF    CALVIN's    LETTERS    TO    PETER    VIRET.t 

"According  to  custom  I  have  to  bear  the  whole  load  of  hatred." 

Caroli  however  had  soon  trifled  away  the  confidence  of  the 
Strasburg  church,  and  Calvin  writes  to  Farel : — 

"  I  adjure  you,  dear  brother,  if  I  quarrel  with  you,  scold  you, 
am  angry  with  you,  accuse  you,  take  it  all  as  if  you  were  doing 
it  to  yourself.  With  regard  to  Caroli,  God  will  soon  so  order 
things,  that  if  an  error  has  been  committed  it  will  be  corrected. 
Our  friends  affirm  that  it  might  have  been  more  easily  arranged, 
but  as  the  force  of  discipline  among  us  is  not  what  it  ought  to  be, 
they  have  been  compelled  to  treat  him  with  more  forbearance 
than  they  wished." 

Calvin  proposed,  even  in  the  year  1543,  as  we  see  by  his  letters 
written  in  that  year  from  Strasburg,  to  contend  with  Caroli. 
The, latter  avoided  the  disputation.  Calvin  wished  to  compel 
him  to  meet  him.  Farel  in  the  mean  time  set  out.  Caroli  having 
entreated  him  to  be  present,  as  on  an  affair  of  life  and  death. 
Farel  rebuked  and  admonished  his  opponent  with  force  and  dig- 
nity.     Calvin  writes  to  the  council:    "He  shows  himself  more 

*  Oct.  27,  1539.  MSS.  Gen. 

t  Oct,  8,  1539.  MSS.  Gen.     Feb.  6,  1540.  MSS.  Gen. 


1GG  CALVIN    AT    HAGENAU.  [cHAP.  XII. 

arrogant  than  ever;  and  so  much  the  more,  because  he  trusts 
that,  in  the  presence  of  the  emperor,  he  will  not  be  obliged  to 
enter  into  a  discussion.  It  was  his  wish  to  escape  beforehand." 
But  the  council  of  Metz  would  not  permit  the  discussion  to  take 
place,  and  Farel  did  not  see  Caroli  again. 

The  evangelical  divines  assembled  at  Hagenau,  where  the  diet 
was  then  held,  on  June  8th,  1540.  Melancthon  remained  sick  at 
Weimar.  King  Ferdinand  had  already  entered  the  city  and  was 
secretly  endeavoring  to  excite  the  catholic  powers  to  take  arms 
against  the  protestants,  but  in  vain.  Luther  was  discontented 
with  this  convention,  on  account  of  the  lukewarmness  with  which 
the  affairs  of  the  reformation  were  treated.  He  complains  of  this 
in  a  letter  to  the  duchess  Catharine  of  Saxony.  The  religious 
conference  at  Worms  was  determined  upon  soon  after  this.  He 
describes  the  diet  in  a  very  characteristic  manner,  and,  as  usual, 
strikes  the  nail  on  the  head,  when,  writing  to  his  wife,  he  says. 
"  The  diet  at  Hagenau  is  mere  rubbish  to  me  ;  it  ii  so  much 
trouble  and  labor  lost,  so  much  useless  expense."* 

Calvin  travelled  to  Hagenau  for  his  amusement  ;  he  describes 
the  circumstances  of  his  journey  with  much  liveliness  in  a  very 
interesting  letter  to  h.  v.  Taillis  of  Strasburg.  At  the  same  time 
he  shows  how  clear  a  view  he  took  of  the  political  subterfuges  and 
intrigues  of  the  different  parties  ;  how  correctly  he  estimated  the 
various  relations  of  the  German  states,  recognizing  at  all  times 
thereby  the  power  of  divine  Providence  over  all  human  conniv- 
ances. 

t:  It  was  the  intention  "of  our  adversaries  to  augment  their  own 
confederacy,  and  to  lessen  ours  ;  but  there  is  hope  that  God 
may  alter  the  chances.  AVhatever  may  be,  our  friends  are  seek- 
ing, as  far  as  possible,  to  enlarge  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
think  not  for  a  moment  of  turning  aside.  We  cannot  tell  what 
it  may  please  the  Lord  to  order  for  us.  One  part  of  our  adver- 
saries desire  nothing  but  war.  The  emperor  however  is  too 
much  engaged  to  ventuie  upon  anything  further;  while  the  pope, 
on  his  part,  would  not  hesitate  to  employ  himself  in  it,  having 
already  offered  by  his  ambassador  three  hundred  thousand  ducats 
for  a  beginning.  If  all  who  have  not  yet  received  our  doctrine 
would  agree  to  attack  us,  the  emperor  would  not  hesitate  to  give 
the  sanction  of  his  name  ;  and  this  would  be  only  to  break  the 
forces  of  Germany,  to  subdue  the  country  itself  the  more  easily. 
Hut  there  is  a  great  obstacle  to  this:  it  is,  that  the  electors  arc 
*  Do  Wette,  t.  5.  298. 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    LORD'S    SUPPER.  167 

with  one  consent  determined  to  settle  all  dissensions  amicably, 
and  without  an  appeal  to  arms.  The  duke  of  Saxony  and  the 
marquis  of  Brandenburg  are  on  the  side  of  our  friends,  and  can 
therefore  do  nothing  against  their  cause." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

calvin's  treatise  on  the  lord's  supper. 

The  opinions  of  the  reformers  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per were  many  and  various.  According  to  Zwingli's  first  idea, 
the  bread  and  wine  are  only  signs  and  memorials,  to  remind  us 
of  the  Lord's  death  ;  but  in  his  last  confession,  in  1531,  he  speaks 
also  of  a  spiritual  enjoyment  of  the  substance.*  According  to 
Luther,  the  very  substance  itself,  as  occupying  space,  is  received 
both  by  the  worthy  and  the  unworthy,  because  the  body  of  Christ 
is  drawn  down  into  the  sacrament.  Calvin's  view  is,  that  the 
soul  of  the  communicant  raises  itself  towards  heaven  by  faith,  and 
by  the  instrumentality  of  faith  unites  itself  with  the  substance  of 
the  Lord.  When  this  organ  of  faith  is  wanting,  there  is  no  en- 
joyment of  the  body  and  blood  ;  and  the  unworthy,  therefore,  has 
not  partaken  of  the  sacrament,  because  the  means  necessary 
thereto  are  absent. 

It  has  been  objected  against  him,  that  he  sought  an  alliauce 
with  the  Swiss  from  political  considerations,  or  from  the  mere 
desire  of  unity,  and  that  on  this  account  he  gave  up  his  original 
convictions,  which  were  more  in  accordance  with  the  doctrine  of 
Luther.  But  this  accusation  is  not  just:  every  one  who  knows 
his  independent,  faithful  spirit  will  acquit  him  of  such  conduct: 
his  conscience  and  belief  exercised  supreme  control  over  him  in 
this  respect,  as  in  all  others,  and  not  the  dry  calculations  of  pru- 
dence. In  the  same  manner  he  set  forth,  and  supported  to  the 
end,  from  pure  conviction,  his  theory  of  predestination  ;  and  this 
he  did  against  all  the  opposition  of  parties,  against  both  Luther- 
ans and  reformed.  If  therefore  we  must  esteem  him  because  he 
always  desired  to  establish  unity,  so  must  we  also  regard  this 
endeavor,  not    as    bearing  a  political,  but  a  religious  character. 

*  See  uote  in  Appendix. 


168  CALVIN    AND    MELANCTIION.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

Planck,*  in  other  respects,  bears  willing  testimony  to  the  high 
deserts  of  Calvin,  and  defends  him  against  the  Lutheran  zealots; 
but  he  seems  to  support  this  accusation,  when  he  observes,  that 
Calvin,  in  the  year  1548,  was  doubtful  whether  he  should  publish 
a  writing  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  wrote  to  a  friend, t  requesting 
him  to  say  whether  the  publication  of  such  a  work  would  be  ad- 
visable and  prudent.  Planck  must  however  have  remarked,  that 
this  uncertainty  has  no  reference  to  his  convictions,  but  to  the 
question,  whether  it  was  the  fitting  time  to  bring  out  such  a  work. 
His  belief  stood  firm,  grounded  as  it  was  from  the  beginning  on 
the  Scriptures,  lie  was  only  anxious  to  make  a  cautious  use  of 
circumstances  to  secure  its  acceptance. 

In  the  first  edition  of  the  '  Institutes, '+  as  well  as  in  the  second, 
and  also  in  his  treatise  on  the  Lord's  Supper,  he  speaks  of  an 
enjoyment  (ucre  et  realiter)  through  faith,  and  therefore  rejects 
both  Zwinglrs  doctrine,  and,  still  more  strongly,  that  of  Luther, 
on  the  real  presence.  Other  expressions,  of  the  same  date,  prove 
equally  with  what  a  conscientious  profession  of  faith  he  held  to 
his  convictions  ;  since  when  Bucer  and  Melancthon  had  drawn 
up  a  formulary  of  belief,  with  the  view  of  uniting  catholics  and 
Lutherans  at  the  diet  of  Ratisbon,§  he  declared  himself  against 
this  species  of  double-mindedness,  and  throughout  Ins  life  pro- 
tested against  Melancthon, — discontented  that  one  who  thought 
as  be  diil  should,  from  the  mere  human  fear  of  Luther,  dread  to 
declare  his  sentiments.  So  far  was  this  the  case,  that  his  earn- 
est and  pressing  exhortations  interrupted,  in  the  end,  his  con- 
nection with  Melancthon.  Calvin  had  no  wish  to  establish  unity 
except  by  lawful  means  and  from  inward  conviction.il  Even 
in  the  year  1535  he  had  expressed  his  opinions  in  the  most 
open  manner.  It  is  true  however  that  the  two  parties  were  not 
immediately  united  in  the  mediating  view  which  he  took.  He 
pertained  now  to  a  church  which  was  commonly  regarded  as 
Lutheran,  after  it  had  given  its  assent  to  the  Augsburg  confes- 
sion, although  its  catechism  of  1527  plainly  expressed  the  mid- 
dle view ;    while    Calvin    himself,  during    the   controversy  with 

*  Lehrbegrifij  13.  V.  t.  ii.  s.  5-13.     Compare  Rretschneider,  s.  83. 

I    Ep.  92. 

X  Planck,  s.  10,  remarks,  that  the  Lutheran  theologians  desired  to  force  the  world 
into  the  conviction  that  Calvin,  till  the  year  1649,  wished  to  lie  considered  as  agree- 
ing altogether  witli  the  Lutherans.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  they  had  not  Been  the 
first  edition. 

B    Ep.  a. I  Far.  lr,  11.     Ed.  Amst,  p.  17. 

J  Peter  Martyr,  who  also  would  not  join  with  Bucer,  agreed  with  him. 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    LORD'S    SUPPER.  169 

Caroli,  set  forth  a  statement  of  his  doctrine  on  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, which  was  acknowledged  in  Switzerland  to  be  perfectly 
orthodox.  In  the  year  1539  he  was  present  at  the  convention 
at  Frankfort:  in  the  following  year  he  attended  that  at  Hage- 
nau  ;  and  was  now  sent  formally  to  Worms  as  the  deputy  of 
Strasburg.  Thus,  according  to  Planck's  remark,*  people  were 
accustomed  to  regard  him  as  a  Lutheran  theologian  ;  and  even 
the  Swiss  were  doubtful  whether  he  had  not  definitively  declared 
himself  in  favor  of  the  Lutheran  doctrine.  "  Many,"  says 
Lavater,t  "were  offended,  because  Calvin  seemed  to  espouse 
opinions  which  were  contrary  to  those  of  the  Zurich  ministers." 
Adam  says  :t  "  Many  considered  that  Calvin  differed  in  opinion 
from  the  Zurich  divines  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  that  he  favored  consubstantiation."  Farel's  indiscretion, 
and  the  circulation  of  his  letter,  in  which  he  speaks  of  Luther's 
friendly  greeting,  and  the  joy  which  he  felt  thereat,  was  calcu- 
lated to  awaken  considerable  distrust.  But  this  appearance  of 
doubt  shows  that  Calvin,  at  the  same  time,  must  have  expressed 
by  other  channels  other  sentiments.  This  was  actually  the  case 
both  with  Peter  Martyr  and  with  him.  Even  the  confession 
which  Calvin,  with  Farel  and  Viret,  subscribed  at  an  earlier 
period,  shows  the  conflict  which  he  experienced  in  order  to  keep 
himself  further  from  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  real  presence 
than  from  Zwingli's  view  of  the  mere  symbolical  presence.  He 
there  distinctly  declares,  that  the  believer  is  actually  fed  in  the 
sacrament  with  the  substance  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
and  is  quickened  by  the  enjoyment  thereof.  Against  the  Swiss 
he  asserts,  that  in  the  Lord's  Supper  we  have  not  mere  signs, 
but  under  them  a  true  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ. 

In  the  same  manner,  he  prudently  protests  against  the  notion 
of  an  actual  and  local  presence ;  affirms  that  the  Holy  Spirit  only 
can  effect  communion  ;  and  that  a  spiritual  participation  of  the 
sacrament  can  be  enjoyed  by  those  only  who  have  faith. 

Calvin  openly  declared  his  opposition  to  the  Lutheran  doctrine 
of  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  in  the  treatise 
of  which  we  are  here  more  particularly  speaking.  The  cause  of 
the  strife  referred  to  is  stated  at  the  end  of  the  work  ;  and  Calvin, 
as  we  shall  see,  speaks  as  decidedly  against  Luther  himself,  as 
agai-nst  his  opponents. 

*  Lehrbegriff,  B.  V.  t.  ii.  s.  5-13.  t  His*-  Sacr.  p.  98. 

X  Lelen  Bullingers,  s.  489. 


170  CALVIN    AND    HIS  CONTEMPORARIES.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

But  we  have  still  to  explain  why  he  was  regarded  as  a  Lu- 
theran divine.  The  Strasburgers,  who  might  be  considered  as 
such,  had  never  received  all  the  Lutheran  dogmas,  but  had  only 
affirmed,  in  opposition  to  the  Swiss,  that  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  were  received  according  to  the  substance  (the  expres- 
sion in  the  Augsburg  Confession),  and  inclined  rather  to  the 
right  notion,  which  they  had  already  stated  in  their  decision  re- 
specting the  confession  set  forth  by  Calvin,  Farel,  and  Yiret,  in 
the  year  1537,  not,  as  Planck  affirms,  in  1539,  at  Strasburg.  Ac- 
cording also  to  the  Wittemberg  Confession,  it  seems  to  have  been 
admitted,  that  a  spiritual  presence  only  of  the  substance  of  Christ 
was  to  be  looked  for  in  the  sacrament.  Melancthon  also  desired 
to  introduce  the  common  definition  of  a  substantial  presence,  and 
to  leave  the  rest  to  private  judgment.  Luther  himself  even  seems 
to  have  become  much  milder  in  regard  to  this  doctrine;  and 
hence  Calvin  was  admitted,  without  opposition,  as  a  deputy  in  the 
convention. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  in  what  a  friendly  manner  Luther  ex- 
pressed his  judgment  of  Calvin  at  this  time.  Calvin  speaks  of 
this  in  a  letter  to  Farel.*  "Erato,  one  of  our  calcographists.  is 
just  returned  from  Wittemberg.  He  brings  a  letter  from  Luther 
to  Bucer,  in  which  are  the  words,  'Greet  in  my  name  with  great 
respect  Sturm  and  Calvin,  whose  little  treatises  I  have  read  with 
particular  satisfaction.'"  There  is  here  a  parenthesis  in  Calvin's 
letter,  which  he  has  struck  through  with  his  pen.  The  words 
are:  "Now,  remember  what  I  say  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Consider  Luther's  frankness.  It  is  easy  to  see  what  lit- 
tle reason  they  have  who  so  obstinately  separate  from  him.  Philip 
however  wrote  thus  :t  Luther  and  Pomeranus  have  sent  their 
greeting  to  Calvin  and  Sturm.  Calvin  stands  in  high  favor.  But 
Philip  afterwards  expressed  himself  thus  by  the  messengers: 
'Some,  in  order  to  excite  Martin,  had  told  him  that  he  was  ren- 
dered hateful  to  his  own  party  by  my  means.'  He  therefore  read 
the  passage  through,  and  felt  without  doubt  that  he  was  here  at- 
tacked. At  length  he  said  :  I  hope  he  will  one  day  think  better 
of  us.  It  is  right  however  for  us  to  bear  something  from  so  excel- 
lent a  spirit."* 

There   is   here  another    parenthesis,  which   Calvin   has  struck 
out : — "  If  we  be  not  subdued  by  such  moderation,  we  are  rocks. 

*  Nov.  20,  1539.  MSS.  Gen.  +   De  Wette,  T.  V.  s.  210. 

\  Calvin  i->  prcftd  of  tin*  distinction  :  it  is  the  only  place  in  which  Luther  speaks 
60  particularly  of  Calvin. 


a.d.  1540.]  calvin's  letter  to  farel.  171 

I  am  myself  shaken,  and  have  therefore  prepared  an  Apology, 
which  will  be  inserted  in  the  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
If  you  have  not  yet  read  what  Philip  has  written  on  the  authority 
of  the  church,  I  wish  you  to  do  so.  You  will  see  he  is  much  more 
judicious  than  he  appears  in  other  writings."  Calvin  intended 
perhaps  to  say  "  more  courageous." 

This  passage  is  very  remarkable,  for  it  shows  that  Luther  in  re- 
ality was  not  so  irritable,  that,  pleased  as  he  was  with  Calvin's 
work,  others  could  excite  him  against  him. 

What  could  those  libelli  have  been  in  which  Calvin  spoke 
against  Luther,  when  he  had  not  yet  written  on  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per? The  work  'DeCoena'  was  not  published  so  early  as  the 
year  1539,  and  first  appeared  in  French,  which  Luther  probably 
did  not  read.  It  was  not  published  in  Latin  till  1545,  when  he 
certainly  read  and  praised  the  work.*  It  was  consequently  in  the 
first  edition  of  the  'Institutes'  that  Calvin  expressed  himself  as  op- 
posed to  the.  doctrine  of  the  real  presence. 

For  the  rest,  Farel,  in  the  fulness  of  his  joy,  had  immediately 
published  these  words  of  Luther.  Calvin  scolded  him  for  not 
keeping  back  his  letter,  and  for  having  imprudently  started  up  at 
the  mention  of  Luther's  greeting,  so  that  the  news  of  his  behavior 
had  travelled  as  far  as  Bern.t  This  was  very  characteristic  of 
Farel,  who  acted  without  consideration. 

I  shall  quote  some  other  passages  from  Calvin's  letters  on  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  first  from  one  addressed  to  Farel, +  which 
shows  how  the  Swiss  were  at  this  time  regarded  at  Wiltemberg. 
The  Strasburgers  occupied  a  middle  position,  and  Calvin  was 
rather  inclined  to  the  Lutheran  party.  According  to  his  opinion, 
the  Zurich  brethren  had  not  pursued  a  right  course. 

UT  have  repeated  your  admonitions  to  our  brethren  here,  and 
they  have  received  them  with  good  feeling,  for  they  know  from 
whom  they  come,  and  see  plainly  that  dangers  exist.  They  will 
therefore  in  these  stormy  times  act  with  due  consideration.  The 
advice  which  you  give  respecting  a  union  with  the  church  at 
Zurich  is  of  such  weight,  that  you  cannot  tell  with  what  earnest- 
ness the  matter  is  treated  on  our  side. 

"But  the  brethren  at  Strasburg  dare  not  hope  to  accomplish 
so  speedy  a  reconciliation  :  they  remember  too  well  how  they 
were  received  there,  and  sent  back,  and  what  reports  were  after- 
wards circulated  respecting  their  proceedings,  and   what  letters 

*  Hospinian,  Hist.  Sacr.  P.  II.  p.  17S. 

f  MSS.  Gen.  Jun.  21,  1540.  \  Feb.  26,  1540.  MSS.  Gen. 


172  LUTHER    AND    ZWINGLI.  [CHAP.  XIII. 

were  written.  When  the  brethren  could  not  effect  anything 
themselves,  they  appealed  to  the  good  feeling  of  those  who  en- 
joyed any  degree  of  respect  or  favor  at  Zurich,  to  do  what  they 
could  to  re-establish  sentiments  of  peace,  or  at  least  of  modera- 
tion. Bollinger  however  in  the  mean  time  showed  that  letter,  in 
which  he  reckons  among  the  hindrances  to  the  Gospel  the  in- 
fluence of  certain  changeable  and  Proteus-like  natures,  under 
which  appellation  lie  points  his  finger,  as  every  one  knows,  at 
our  friends.  But  they  remained  silent,  and  overlooked  this  un- 
worthy treatment,  till  Erasmus,  one  of  the  Zurich  preachers, 
arrived  here.  We  complained  to  him,  but  with  great  mildness. 
No  soothing  word  however  was  returned  ;  but  not  long  after, 
Bibliander,  with  their  knowledge,  wrote  to  Sturm,  stating  that 
we  had  disturbed  ourselves  with  false  suspicions  ;  that  it  was  not 
Bullinger's  intention  to  join  too  closely  with  Bucer,  but  to  com- 
bine with  those  out  of  Wirtemberg  who  favored  peace;  and 
that  Bucer  had  been  told  to  his  face  at  Zurich  what  was  con- 
sidered necessary.  To  speak  the  truth,  however,  we  have  not 
ceased  to  be  their  friends,  although  they  treat  us  as  enemies ; 
and  if  you  knew  with  what  moderation  our  brethren  act,  it  would 
grieve  you  to  require  anything  further  of  them.  The  good  peo- 
ple irritate  themselves  when  any  one  ventures  to  praise  Luther 
above  Zwingli,  as  if  the  Gospel  could  be  lost  to  us  if  Zwingli's 
fame  was  diminished.  And  yet  no  injustice  would  be  done  to 
Zwingli;  for  if  Luther  and  he  be  compared  together,  you  your- 
self know  how  immeasurably  higher  the  former  stands.  I  am 
not  pleased  therefore  with  Zebedei's  song,  in  which  he  shows  that 
he  supposed  Zwingli  could  not  be  praksed  according  to  his 
worth,  without  his  saying  that  it  would  be  sin  to  hope  for  a 
greater  man.  It  is  unworthy  of  a  man  to  revile  ashes  and  a 
shade,  but  it  is  ungodly  not  to  think  honorably  of  so  great  a 
man.  Still  there  are  proper  limits  to  our  praise,  and  he  has 
gone  far  beyond  these.  So  little  indeed  do  I  agree  with  him 
that  I  consider  there  are  many  greater  men  than  Zwingli  ;  I 
hope  there  will  be  still  more,  and  I  wish  all  may  be  greater.  I 
ask  you,  dear  Farel,  if  any  one  had  exalted  Luther,  would  not 
the  Zurichers  have  cried  out  as  if  Zwingli  had  been  martyred? 
The  fools  !  you  will  say.  .  .  .  But  all  this  is  only  whispered  in  your 
ear.*1' 

*  Calvin  goes  further  even  than  Martyr  in  condemning  Zwingli.  In  a  letter 
to  Vint  (Mnft  Colli.),  he  says,  "I  allow  you  to  think  as  you  do  of  Zwinglft 
writings.     1    have    never    read    them  alL       He    probably    towards  the  end  ofhis 


A.D.   1540.]  CALVIN    AND    HERMANN.  173 

In  the  following  passage  from  a  letter  to  Farel*  he  says :  "  I 
am  curious  to  see  what  the  agitation  now  existing  in  Geneva 
will  effect  for  us.  The  affair  will,  I  hope,  be  decided  in  some 
way  before  you  arrive.  Germany,  as  usual,  stands  uncertain, 
looking  for  great  things  to  come.  Nobody  indeed  doubts  that 
the  emperor  is  meditating  important  measures.  Our  representa- 
tives are  now  at  the  meeting  at  Smalcalde,  where,  for  the  interest 
of  both  parties,  they  will  advise  them  to  stand  prepared  for 
either  a  learned  controversy  or  for  war.  God  has  manifested  his 
mercy  towards  us  in  this,  that  the  three  episcopal  electors  have 
united  themselves  with  us  to  protect  their  fatherland,  rather 
than  take  part  in  the  slightest  matter  with  the  emperor.  Our 
little  church  supports  itself  as  usual.  Hermann!"  is  again  re- 
ceived into  communion  ;  and  is,  if  I  err  not,  altogether  sincere. 
He  acknowledges  that  there  is  no  salvation  out  of  the  church, 
that  the  true  church  is  with  us,  and  that  it  was  apostasy  there- 
fore to  establish  a  new  sect  separate  from  the  church.  For  this 
offence,  which  he  acknowledged,  he  prayed  forgiveness.  He 
submitted  to  be  instructed  on  the  subject  of  free-will,  the  divin- 
ity and  manhood  of  Christ,  the  new-birth,  infant  baptism,  &c, 
and  accepted  our  doctrine.  He  paused  a  little  when  the  dis- 
course referred  to  predestination,  almost  agreeing  with  me.  but 
finding  it  difficult  to  distinguish  between  conscience  and  pre- 
science. He  prayed  however  that  this  might  not  be  made  a  hin- 
drance to  the  admission  of  himself  and  his  children  into  church 
communion.  I  gave  him  my  hand,  in  the  name  of  the  church, 
and  with  that  forbearance  which  ought  to  be  exercised  towards 
one  who  asks  for  forgiveness.  After  this  I  baptized  his  little 
daughter,  now  rather  more  than  two  years  old.  If  my  judg- 
ment be  not  altogether  deceived,  he  is  a  pious  man.  When  I 
admonished  him  to  help  others  on  the  right  path,  he  replied, 
'  The  least  that  I  can  do  is  to  labor  as  much  for  the  edification 
of  the  church  as  I  did  before  for  its  destruction.'  Johannes  also, 
who  is  at  Ulm,  has  manifested  repentance.  But,  to  prevent  us 
from  boasting  of  these  victories,  the  Lord  has  humbled  us  in  a 
thousand  ways.  Then  the  circumstances  of  the  church  are  no- 
where better  than  there  where  you  say  they  are  most  miserable. 
But  in  all  these  lamentable  affairs,  the  consolation  is  still  left  us, 

life  retracted  and  corrected  what  first  escaped  him  carelessly.  But  I  remember 
how  profane  his  opinion  appears  concerning  the  sacraments  in  his  early  -wri- 
tings." 

*  MSS.  Genev.  Feb.  26,  1540. 

f  An  anabaptist,  who  had  given  rise  to  some  conversation  in  Geneva. 


174  calvin's  love  of  peace.  [chap.  XIII. 

that  we  ate  not  unprofitably  serving  God,  even  when  as  individ- 
uals we  seem  to  be  wasting  our  labor.  The  letters  which  I  have 
written  to  the  brethren,  deliver,  if  you  see  good  ;  if  not,  send  them 
back,  and  see  that  they  are  taken  care  of.  Greet  every  one  par- 
ticularly in  all  our  names,  and  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  but 
still  I  wish  you  to  greet  them  especially  in  my  own  name.  Fare- 
well, my  best  and  most  pious  brother!  All  greet  yon  with  much 
affection,  especially  Capito,  Sturmius,  Claudius.  Bucer  is  absent. 
All  agreed  in  giving  me  the  commission  to  answer  yon,  as  I  had 
communicated  to  them  your  admonition  ;  and  so  far  are  they 
from  being  aggrieved  at  your  warning,  that,  on  the  contrary,  their 
reverence  for  you,  great  as  it  was  before,  is  much  increased.  Still 
again,  my  soul,  farewell!  I  have  often  already  fallen  asleep,  but 
cannot  leave  off  writing." 

A  letter  to  Bullinger,*  after  some  passing  apologies  for  the  wri- 
ter's long  silence,  contains  a  powerful  exhortation  to  unity. 

"  What,  dear  Bullinger,  should  more  anxiously  occupy  us  in 
our  letters,  than  the  endeavor  to  keep  up  brotherly  friendship 
among  us  by  all  possible  means  ?  We  see  how  important  it  is, 
not  only  for  us,  but  for  the  whole  Christian  church,  that  all  those 
should  keep  together  in  the  profession  of  the  truth,  to  whom  the 
Lord  has  committed  ability  to  be  useful  in  his  church.  Satan  has 
a  view  to  the  same  object,  for  while  he  is  plotting  in  all  ways 
the  ruin  of  Christ's  kingdom,  for  nothing  is  he  more  anxious 
than  to  sow  dissension  among  us,  and  to  estrange  us  from  each 
other.  It  is  our  duty  therefore  to  resist  his  arts,  and  the  more 
the  enemy  strives  to  break  the  bond  of  our  union,  with  so  much 
more  resolution  and  diligence  to  employ  ourselves  in  preserving 
it.  Thus  it  is  obviously  our  duty  to  cherish  a  true  friendship 
for  all  preachers  of  the  AVord,  and  especially  to  see  that  those 
churches  in  which  RTe  preach  the  Word  of  God  are  at  peace  with 
each  other.  I  am  convinced  that  our  friendship,  as  it  is,  and  upon 
the  principles  on  which  it  is  now  founded,  may  be  preserved  pure 
unto  our  end.  As  far  as  in  me  lies,  I  will  always  labor  to  strength- 
en  iis  foundations.  Then,  as  I  have  ever  expressed  my  respect 
lor  you,  I  have  always,  as  it  was  fitting,  regarded  you  with  much 
affection,  and  shall  never  cease  to  do  so.  Though  I  do  not  now 
see  that  strife  or  enmity  exists  between  your  church  and  ours-, 
yet  I  should  be  thankful  to  find  them  in  closer  union  and  friend- 
ship.    Why  they  do  not  harmonize  with  each  other,  as  I  so  greatly 

*  Stras.  March  12, 1540.     MSS.  Gen. 


A..D.  1540.]  calvin's  desire  of  union.  175 

wish  they  did,  1  will  not  now  venture  to  determine,  unless  we 
may  trace  it  to  the  remains  of  that  unhappy  strife  which  still  has 
too  great  an  influence  on  our  minds,  and  whence  there  arises  so 
much  wretched  suspicion.  Our  own  party  is  most  anxious  to 
cultivate  brotherly  kindness,  and  desire  no  other  bond  of  union 
than  the  pure  truth  of  God.  Of  Capito's  uprightness,  well  known 
as  it  is  to  you,  I  will  not  say  much.  I  am  ready  to  be  surety  for 
Bucer,  and  to  pledge  myself  that  no  reason  exists  for  your  sus- 
pecting him.  He  is  endowed,  it  is  true,  with  remarkable  penetra- 
tion and  acuteness  of  judgment;  yet  is  there  no  one  who  labors 
so  much  as  he  to  keep  himself  in  the  simplicity  of  the  Word  of 
God  ;  nor  will  I  say  that  he  does  not  indulge  in  vain  speculations 
which  lead  the  mind  astray,  but  rather  that  he  abhors  them.  If 
you  therefore  discover  any  failing  in  him,  he  will,  discreet  as 
he  is,  and  bearing  things  so  easily,  readily  permit  you  to  warn 
and  even  rebuke  him.  But  let  us  at  least  see  that  you  wish 
to  have  that  communion  with  us  which  ought  to  exist  among 
the  servants  of  Christ.  Into  the  dispute  itself  I  will  not  enter 
with  you  ;  it  is  not  of  a  nature  to  be  treated  properly  in  letters. 
I  should  even  seem  bold  and  arrogant  perhaps  if  I  ventured  upon 
such  an  experiment.  And  yet  I  cannot  refrain  from  wishing  that 
something  might  occur,  which  would  afford  me  the  opportunity 
of  discussing  the  whole  matter  with  you  in  a  friendly  manner 
face  to  face.  You  know  indeed  that  I  have  never  been  able 
to  treat  this  matter  with  you  by  word  of  mouth,  so  as  actually 
to  understand  what  hinders  a  thorough  reconciliation  between 
you  and  them.  But  as  I  consider  this  obstacle,  whatever  it  may 
be,  as  an  unworthy  cause  of  separation,  I  beseech  you,  or  rather 
I  conjure  you,  dear  Bullinger,  to  let  us  wholly  refrain  from  all 
hate  and  all  strife,  and  even  from  all  appearance  of  offence. 
Forgive  my  cautious  anxiety.  I  do  not  express  myself  thus  be- 
cause I  have  any  doubt  of  your  foresight,  or  of  your  goodwill, 
or  of  your  strength  of  soul  or  resolution.  It  is  the  peculiarity  of 
love,  that  even  when  there  is  hope,  there  is  yet  much  of  anxiety. 
Still  further,  when  you  consider  what  dangers  threaten  us  on  all 
sides,  especially  in  these  our  unhappy  times,  you  will  suffer,  or 
rather  pardon,  this  my  simple  speech.  Farewell,  learned  and 
pious  man  !  Greet  all  the  brethren  with  respect, — Pellicanus, 
Leo,  Theodosius,  Megander,  and  the  others,  whom  I  honor  truly 
and  from  my  heart.  I  hope  you  will  not  refrain  from  giving  me 
your  candid  advice." 

Under  these  circumstances  appeared  the  little  work  c  De  Ccena.' 


176  CALVIN    ON    THE    LORD'S    SUPPER.        [CHAP.  XIII. 

He  published  if,  lie  says,  to  restore  quiet  to  the  numerous  pious 
souls  whom  the  late  continual  disputes  had  so  confused  that  they 
knew  not  where  to  look.  It  forms  an  epoch  in  his  life,  because 
he  now  appeared  for  the  first  time  as  a  mediator,  hoping  to  restore 
peace  to  the  distracted  communities,  and  in  this  way  to  lay  a 
foundation  for  the  union  of  the  several  parties  in  the  reformed 
church. 

He  begins  with  showing:  1.  For  what  purpose  Christ  instituted 
the  holy  sacrament.  2.  What  benefit  we  derive  from  it,  and  bow 
the  body  of  Christ  is  given  us  in  it.  3.  The  right  use  of  the  sac- 
rament. 4.  What  errors  attended  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament 
in  the  early  ages.  5.  The  origin  of  the  strife  which  was  then 
agitating  those  who  desired  to  build  up  the  church  by  any  means 
whatsoever. 

This  little  work,  in  a  good  translation,  might  exercise  at  pres- 
ent the  happiest  influence  in  Germany,  by  awakening  a  right 
spirit,  and  putting  to  shame  the  love  of  strife.  The  old  French 
in  which  Calvin  wrote  seems  somewhat  harsh,  not  like  the  Latin 
of  Gallasius,  and  would  find  no  favor  in  France.  We  shall  give 
some  extracts. 

"In  order  to  help  our  manifold  infirmities,  God  has  given  us 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  a  mirror,  in  which  we 
may  contemplate  the  crucified  and  risen  Christ,  that  our  sins  and 
wickedness  may  be  taken  away.  This  especial  consolation  we 
receive  from  the  Lord's  Supper,  that  it  leads  us  to  the  cross,  and 
to  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord,  and  teaches  us  that,  although 
wicked   and    unrighteous,   we   may  be  accepted  and   accounted 

righteous As  however  the  merits  of  Christ  do  not  pertain  to 

us,  unless  we  possess  Christ  himself,  so  must  he  first  be  given  to 
us  in  the  sacrament.  Therefore  I  am  accustomed  to  say,  that 
Christ  is  the  matter  and  substance  of  the  sacrament,  but  that  the 
virtue  of  the  sacrament  is  the  grace  and  mercy  which  are  thereby 
imparled  to  us.  As  the  force  of  the  Lord's  Supper  consists  in 
this,  that  it  confirms  our  reconciliation  with  God  through  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  assures  us  that  by  his  obedience  we  are 
made  partakers  of  his  righteousness,  so  must  we  conclude  that 
the  substance  of  Christ  is  united  with  the  virtue  of  the  sacrament. 
Tims  in  a  twofold  way  is  Christ  presented  to  us,  as  the  ground, 

the  fountain,  the  cause  of  all  merit and  so  also  the  fruit 

of  his  death  and  suffering,  as  the  words  of  the  sacrament 
themselves  show.  When  he  calls  upon  us  to  partake  of  his 
body  and    his  blood,  he  adds,  that  his  body  was  given  for  us, 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    LORD'S    SUPPER.  177 

and  that  his  blood  was  poured  out  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  in- 
dicating that  the  body  and  blood  were  not  offered  us  as  a  mere 
form,  but  that  fruit  was  combined  therewith." 

He  now  proceeds  to  prove  still  further  that  no  fruit  is  possible 
without  the  substance  of  Christ  himself.  "  If  He  gives  himself  to 
us,  he  gives  himself  so  that  we  may  really  possess  him.  .  .  .  Thus 
as  the  Scripture  says,  his  spirit  is  our  life :  so  he  says  that  his 
flesh  is  our  food,  and  his  blood  our  drink ;  and  hence  it  is  neces- 
sary that,  as  our  life  is  in  Christ,  our  souls  should  be  nourished 
with  his  flesh  and  blood  as  their  proper  food."  He  uses  the  words 
flesh  and  blood,  that  we  may  recognize  in  them  the  substance  of 
our  spiritual  life. 

"  If  any  one  asks  whether  the  bread  is  the  body,  and  the  wine 
the  blood,  I  answer,  that  bread  and  wine  are  visible  signs  called 
flesh  and  blood,  because  they  are  instruments  by  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  imparts  these  to  us.  This  mode  of  speaking  agrees  with 
the  thing ;  since,  though  we  can  neither  with  the  eyes  nor  with 
the  mind  comprehend  the  communion  which  we  have  with  the 
body  of  Christ,  yet  is  this  exhibited  to  the  eye.  We  may  adduce 
a  familiar  example.  When  God  willed  that  his  Spirit  should  ap- 
pear at  Christ's  baptism  by  John,  he  showed  him  under  the  form 
of  a  dove.  John  relates  that  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descend. 
If  however  we  carefully  consider  the  subject,  we  shall  find  that 
he  saw  nothing  but  a  dove,  the  essence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  being 
invisible.  But  as  he  knew  that  this  appearance  was  not  a  mere 
form,  but  the  most  certain  sign  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
he  clearly  stated  that  he  had  seen  him,  that  is,  seen  him  in  such  a 
manner  as  was  possible.  And  thus  it  is  that  we  must  say  that, 
in  the  communion  which  we  have  with  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  a  spiritual  mystery  is  involved,  which  can  neither  be  seen 
by  the  eye  nor  comprehended  by  the  mind  of  man." 

The  explanation  of  the  sacrament  thus  given  by  Calvin,  and 
which  defines  the  actual  but  spiritual  presence  of  the  Lord,  rests 
on  such  a  true  living  faith,  that  it  might  well  unite  all  Christians; 
especially  when  it  is  added  that  a  mystery  is  involved,  which- 
neither  the  mind  nor  the  eye  can  reach. 

On  this  point  Calvin  was  immeasurably  superior  to  the  con- 
troversial Lutherans,  who  were  still  in  the  bonds  of  Catholicism, 
and  whose  otherwise  clear   intelligence  was,*  in   respect  to  this 

*  It  is  curious  to  see  how  much  attention  Bossuet  (Hist,  de  Variations,  1.  ix.) 
gives  to  Calvin's  view,  especially  to  this  treatise,  and  with  what  peculiar 
skill  and  sophistry  he  draws  from  the    author's  statement    the  opposite  inference 

VOL.  I. — 12 


178  THE    SACRAMENTAL    CONTROVERSY.  [cHAP.  XIII. 

subject,  very  greatly  confused.  He  speaks  too  in  this  little 
work,  in  reference  to  the  controversy  on  the  Lord's  Supper, 
in  so  brotherly  and  cautious  a  manner,  that  it  is  joyful  to  hear 
him. 

"I   should   wish    to   see    this  controversy  (Opusc.  fr.  p.    219) 
buried  in  eternal  oblivion  ;  for  it  is  an  unhappy  one,  and  without 
doubt  was   excited  by  the  devil,  for  the  purpose  of  limiting,  or 
altogether  stopping,  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.     T  am  far  from 
wishing  to  speak  of  it ;  but  because  I  see  many  pious  souls  in 
perplexity,  I  will  briefly  say  what  is  necessary,  to  let  them  see 
what  they  have  to  do.     Most  earnestly  do  I  beg,  yea  supplicate, 
all  believers  not  to  be  offended  because  those   who  have  taught 
the  Gospel,  and  who  have  been  our  leaders  in  the  return  to  the 
truth,  began  the  dispute.     It  is  nothing  new  for  the  Lord  to  allow 
his  servants  to  remain  ignorant  of  somewhat,  and  to  fall  into  dis- 
putes among  themselves  ;  not  indeed  that  he  will  leave  them  al- 
ways in  error,  but  only  for  a  time,  in   order  to  humble  them.     If 
one  considers  what  darkness  covered  the  world,  when   this  con- 
troversy brought  back  the  light  to  us,  we  shall  wonder  the  less 
that  all 'truth  was  not  revealed  to  them  from  the  beginning.     It 
is  even  much  more  astonishing  that  they  were  able  to  deliver 
themselves  and  others  from   such  a  flood  of  errors.     History  will 
show  that  there  is  here  no  cause  for  vexation.     When  Luther 
began  to  teach,  he  so  treated  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament  as  to 
leave  the  notion  of  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ  as  it  was  then 
commonly  received.      Whilst  he  rejected  transubstantiation,  he 
received  the  bread  as  the  body  of  Christ,  because  united  with  it, 
and  he    employed  strong  comparisons,    as    unable   otherwise   to 
make   his    thoughts   intelligible.       Zwingli  and    GEcolampadius 
then  stood  forward  ;  and  as  they  regarded  this  fleshly   presence 
as  an  invention  of  the  devil,  and  considered  it  impossible  to  pass 
it   over   in   silence,  a   lie   of  six  hundred  years'  standing,  they 
pronounced  this  doctrine,   particularly,  because  Christ  was  wor- 
shipped,   as   hidden    in  the  bread,   to   be   a  shameful    idolatry.* 
But  knowing  how  difficult  it  was    to    expel  this    deeply-rooted 
notion   from    the  human  heart,  the)'  directed  all  their  energies 
against   it.     Christ,  they  said,   ascended,   according  to  Scripture, 
bodily    into    heaven.      But    they    forgot    to    explain    how    we 

to  that  intended  ;  that  is,  that  Christ  is  actually  present  in  the  sacrament,  and  that 
the  unworthy  are  partakers  of  his  body  ami  blood,     Ed,  1'aris,  liv.  ix.  p.  25. 

*  Paschasius  Radbertus  (liber  de  Corpora  <t  Sanguine  Domini)  invented  the  doc- 
trine of  trausubstantiation  in  the  year  881.    He  was  opposed  particularly  by  Bah 

Maurus,  J.  S.  Erigcna,  Ratramnus,  and  subsequently  by  Berengarius. 


A.D.  1540.]  THE    SACRAMENTAL    CONTROVERSY.  179 

become  partakers  of  his  body  and  blood  in  the  sacrament ;  so 
that  Luther  thought  they  wished  to  represent  it  as  consisting  of 
mere-  empty  signs,  without  any  spiritual  substance.  He  there- 
fore opposed  them,  and  represented  their  doctrine  as  heretical. 
The  controversy,  once  kindled,  at  length  burst  out  into  a  flame, 
and  was  carried  on  with  unjustifiable  violence  for  fifteen  years, 
during  which  neither  party  would  listen  fairly  or  tranquilly  to 
what  the  other  had  to  say.  They  once  met,  but  the  excitement 
of  feeling  was  so  great,  that  they  separated  without  accomplish- 
ing their  object.  Instead  of  seeking  to  agree,  they  became  fur- 
ther apart,  each  party  desiring  only  to  defend  its  own  opinion, 
and  to  overthrow  that  of  the  other.  We  know  in  what  Luther, 
in  what  Zwingli  and  CEcolampadius  failed.  Luther  should  have 
explained  from  the  beginning,  that  he  did  not  receive  the  doc- 
trine of  the  real  presence  as  held  by  the  papists,  nor  allow  that 
the  sacrament  might  be  worshipped  in  the  place  of  God.  He 
ought  also  to  have  refrained  altogether  from  the  use  of  startling 
and  difficult  comparisons,  or  to  have  employed  them  more  rarely, 
and  in  every  case  so  as  to  avoid  giving  offence.  Lastly,  he 
passed  all  the  bounds  of  moderation,  when,  the  controversy  hav- 
ing broken  out,  he  declared  his  opinions,  and  offended  so  many 
by  the  exceeding  bitterness  of  his  expressions.*  He  should  have 
spoken  so  as  to  make  his  meaning  understood  ;  but  his  usual 
passion  so  hurried  him  on,  that,  in  order  to  overcome  his  oppo- 
nents, he  employed  hyperbolical  expressions,  which  were  not 
likely  to  be  tolerated  by  those  who  were  already  dissatisfied  with 
his  doctrine. 

"Others,  again,  failed  in  this,  that  they  bore  themselves  with 
such  obstinacy  in  their  struggles  against  the  superstitions  and 
fanatical  notion  of  the  papists  respecting  the  real  presence,  and 
the  worship  connected  with  it,  and  wasted,  in  endeavoring  to 
root  up  the  error,  the  very  strength  which  they  should  have  em- 
ployed in  establishing  that  which  it  would  have  been  wholesome 
to  know.  If  they  did  not  deny  the  truth,  yet  they  failed  to  teach 
it  as  clearly  as  they  ought.  This  is  my  meaning.  When  they 
proved,  with  too  much  violence,  that  bread  and  wine  are  called 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  because  they  are  signs  of  them 
they  forgot  that  a  certain  truth   is  connected  therewith.     There 

*  See  the  letter  of  Luther  to  J.  Probst,  in  which  lie  expresses  his  dislike  to  the 
Sacramentarians  and  Zwingli: — "  Tandem  id  concessimus,  ut  articulo  ultimo  ponitur, 
ut  fratres  quidem  non  essent,  sed  tamen  charitate  nostra  qua;  hosti  etiam  debetur, 
non  spoliarentur.  Ita  indignissime  affecti  sunt,  quod  fratris  nomen  non  potuerunt 
obtinere,  sed  pro  hajrcticis  discedcre  cogerentur." 


180  USEFULNESS    OF    CALVIN's    TREATISE.       [CHAP.  XIII. 

was  error  on  both  sides.  We  should  not,  however,  be  the  less 
anxious  to  fulfil  our  duty  towards  them,  nor  forget  what  grace 
God  bestowed  upon  them,  and  has  imparted  to  us  through  them. 
If  we  would  not  be  unthankful,  but  bear  in  mind  what  we  owe 
to  them,  we  shall  readily  refrain  from  all  reproachful  expressions, 
and  forgive  both  these  and  even  greater  things.  And  when  we 
see  how  they  distinguish  themselves  by  holiness  of  life  and  excel- 
lency of  doctrine,  we  shall  only  with  great  gentleness  and  rever- 
ence think  and  speak  of  them  ;  and  the  more  especially,  since  it 
pleased  God,  after  he  had  taught  them  humility,  to  end.  or  at 
least  soften,  this  unhappy  strife.  I  have  been  desirous  of  saying 
this,  since  there  is  still  no  formulary  of  faith  openly  recognized, 
by  means  of  which  the  peace,  which  is  so  necessary,  may  be 
finally  re-established.  In  the  mean  time  it  must  suffice,  that  a 
brotherly  friendship  and  concord  bring  the  churches  together  hs 
far  as  is  necessary  to  Christian  unity.  Let  us  all,  therefore,  who, 
according  to  God's  ordinance  partake  of  the  sacrament  in  faith, 
confess  with  one  mouth  that  we  are  partakers,  in  the  truth  of  the 
substance,  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  How  this  is  effected, 
let  others,  if  they  will,  more  clearly  explain.  For  the  rest,  we 
must  carefully  hold  fast,  that  all  which  is  carnal  ought  to  be  ban- 
ished, and  that  we  should  raise  our  minds  to  heaven,  refusing 
to  believe  that  our  Lord  Jesus  can  be  brought  from  thence 
to  be  enclosed  in  corruptible  elements.  And  further,  that  the 
operation  of  this  holy  mystery  of  our  union  with  the  Lord  should 
not  be  lessened,  we  should  believe  that  it  takes  place  through  the 
hidden,  wonderful  power  of  God.  His  Spirit  is  the  means  of  this 
union,  which  therefore  is  called  spiritual." 

Calvin  rendered  a  great  service  to  the  church  by  this  clear 
and  accurate  exposition.  The  spirit  of  moderation  which  he  thus 
displayed  has  always  been  seen  in  the  French  reformed  church, 
as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  Lutherans.  Almost  every  effort 
at  union  has  commenced  with  the  reformed  party  ;  and.  at  last, 
the  Synod  of  Charenton,  in  the  year  L631,  declared  that  the 
Lutherans  ought  to  be  admitted  to  the  communion,  without  in- 
quiring as  to  their  faith,  and  without  any  abjuration.*  This  was 
altogether  according  to  Calvin's  feeling;  it  was  a  union  in  the 
spirit  of  oneness,  and  in  the  belief  of  Christ's  presence.  And 
the  view  thus  taken  by  Calvin  on  the  Lord's  Supper  has  pre- 
vailed  in  our  own  times  among  all  those  believers  who  profess 

*  Aymon,  "  Actes  de  tous  lcs  Synodcs  de  l'Eglisc."  Rc£  de  France,  t.  ii.  p 
601. 


a.d.  1540.]  calvin's  moderation.  181 

to  cultivate  union.  Both  churches  were  therefore  originally 
brought  together  through  Calvin's  moderation,  and  have  been, 
since  1631,  actually  united.  The  above-mentioned  declaration 
of  the  French  church  was  by  no  means  the  result  of  indifference. 
It  belonged  to  a  period  when  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  regarded  as  of  the  highest  importance.  Bossuet  observes  in 
his  History  of  Variations,  that  Rome  trembled  at  the  prospect  of 
the  union  of  the  two  confessions,  which,  at  the  time  when  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus  was  fighting  in  Germany,  and  all  were  terrified 
at  his  successes,  would  have  exercised  a  most  important  influence. 
But  two  centuries  were  still  to  pass  away  before  the  churches 
could  be  regarded  as  actually  bound  together  in  the  bonds  of 
love. 

This  first  experiment  of  Calvin  to  reconcile  all  opinions  through 
spirit,  love  and  life,  without  endeavoring  to  fathom  the  mystery 
by  the  understanding,  may  still  show  the  right  path,  even  in  our 
own  day,  to  every  right-minded  Lutheran  in  the  united  evangeli- 
cal church.  Very  wise  it  is,  that  nothing  definite  has  been  said 
in  the  Liturgy  on  the  signification  of  the  words  of  Christ,  and 
that  it  is  left  to  every  one  to  discover  it  according  to  the  measure 
of  light  which  he  enjoys,— a  moderation  which,  if  it  had  prevailed 
in  the  church  from  the  beginning,  would  have  obviated  all  sacra- 
mental controversies,  would  have  rendered  the  union  of  love  pos- 
sible, and  have  proved  the  working  of  the  Saviour's  prayer,  "Fa- 
ther !  I  will  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  Thee ;  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  me." 

A  letter  from  Gaspar  Liser,  preacher  of  Niirtingen,  shows  how 
highly  Calvin's  love  of  union  and  peace  was  respected  in  his  time. 
He  thanks  him  even  in  the  year  1554  for  those  efforts  to  secure 
tranquillity  which  are  at  present  so  little  understood. 

"Greatly  are  we  delighted  with  that  love  of  peace  which  has 
led  you  to  take  so  much  trouble  in  the  endeavor  to  bury  this 
unhappy  strife  respecting  the  Eucharist  in  forgetfulness.  It  has 
occupied  us  much,  and  has  doubtless  been  to  many  a  great  ob- 
stacle in  giving  themselves  up  to  Christ.  But  since  the  greater 
number  cannot  forget  these  disputes,  your  efforts  must  tend  to 
reconcile  the  hostile  parties,  and  lead  them  to  peace,  according 
to  the  words  of  Christ.  And  do  not  suppose  that  your  time  or 
trouble  will  be  lost.  Many  who  formerly  loaded  their  oppo- 
nents with  curses,  now  think  far  more  justly  of  Zvvingli  and 
CEcolampadius   since    they    have    read   your   book,    and   readily 


182  THE   'institutes.'  [chap.  XIV. 

adopt  the  opinion  which  you  have  clearly  explained  in  its  pages. 
I  also  thoroughly  agree  with  you,  where  you  say,  that  if  Luther, 
CEcolampadius  and  others,  who  cannot  be  sufficiently  admired, 
had  not  been  partly  influenced  by  false  opinions,  and  partly  em- 
bittered by  the  fierceness  of  the  controversy,  the  affair  would  not 
have  gone  so  far,  and  they  might  have  been  reconciled."* 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE    SECOND    EDITION    OF     THE     '  INSTITUTES  j'     AND    CALVIN's 
MATURED    THEOLOGICAL    CHARACTER. 

Although  the  edition  of  the  'Institutes'  published  in  1559  is 
the  most  perfect,tand  Calvin  was  continually  employed  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  work,  yet  in  reality  it  contains  nothing  new,  but 
has  only  gained  in  method,  clearness  and  order.  The  Strasburg 
edition,  therefore,  of  1539,  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  tlie  product 
of  his  early  theological  advancement.  As  we  shall  not  revert  to 
this  subject,  we  must  here  compare  the  two  editions  together.  The 
origin  of  the  work  has  been  already  stated  ;  and  we  have  also 
spoken  of  the  first  edition,  which  was  issued  for  a  peculiar  purpose, 
but  contained  the  same  doctrine. 

In  the  preface  to  the  Strasburg  edition  he  speaks  at  once  of 
the  design  of  the  work,  which  was,  "so  to  prepare  theological 
students  for  the  reading  of  God's  Word,  that  the)'  might  easily 

*  The  zealous  Lutherans  judged  it  very  differently.  Iu  the  writings  of  one  Vitus 
Theodorus  it  is  said,  "  Qufflsoquid  sentit  Hoibanusde  Calvini  ubellode  Ooena  Domini  ? 
libenter  dicerem  quod  olim  Lutherus  de  sitmli  quodam  libello.  He  washes  the  hide 
without  making  it  wet.  That  is  an  art  which  a  fool  dees  not  possess.  Principia  bene 
mihi  placent,  Bed  quid  postea  dixit  I  Sursum  corda,  ad  dextram  Patris.  These 
cannot  agree  together." — Barckhus,  p.  ::::. 

f  I  distinguish  particularly  three  editions  or  revisions  of  the  work,  and  quote 
accordingly.  1.  That  of  Basel,  1535-6.  2.  That  of  Strasburu;.  from  the  office  of 
Bendelinus  Rihelius,  1539.  ^onie  copies  under  the  name  of  Alcuin,  with  seventeen 
chapters,  and  also,  somewhat  corrected,  witli  twenty  one  chapters,  Strasburg, 
1048  and  1545;  and  at  Geneva,  1550,  1553  and  1654;  all  after  the  same  plan, 
and  little  altered.     3.  An  entire  revision,  printed  at   Geneva,  1559,  b\  Robert  Ste- 

Jihanus.  Calvin,  according  to  the  preface,  finally  corrected  this  edition.  All  the 
bllowing  correspond  with  this.  Calvin  translated  the  work,  1541,  and  prepared 
a  new  translation,  which  was  furnished  with  an  index  by  Marlorat,  Ziegenbein, 
2-1::.  and  Clement  Bibliot  Crit.  vi.  p.  65.  Gerdee.  Sc.  Ant.  T.  II.  The  French 
translation  by  Charles  Icard,  BrSme,  1718,  was  reprinted  by  Guers  at  Geneva, 
1818;  and  the  German  by  Erummacber,  I  and  II  books,  appeared  at  Elber- 
1  il  i.  1S23. 


A.D.  1540.]        KRUMMACHER    ON    THE    '  INSTITUTES.'  183 

commence  their  labors.  He  had  therefore  arranged  the  subjects 
in  such  order,  and  had  so  explained  them,  that  the  reader  might 
comprehend  without  difficulty  what  he  was  to  find  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  to  what  end  he  was  to  use  all  that  which  they 
taught  him.  In  his  expositions  therefore  he  had  introduced  no 
long,  dogmatical  investigations.  The  pious  reader  would  accord- 
ingly be  spared  great  annoyance,  if  he  undertook  the  reading  of 
this  work  with  judgment."  Calvin  adds,  "My  commentary  on 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  will  explain  my  meaning  better  than 
words."* 

To  direct  attention  to  the  excellence  of  this  work,  as  an  armory 
filled  with  every  kind  of  weapon  against  the  enemies  of  the  Gos- 
pel, it  will  be  sufficient  to  quote  the  sentiments  of  two  later  theo- 
logians, who,  although  varying  in  their  judgment,  are  yet  won- 
derfully agreed  in  their  praise. 

"  While  we  have  no  work,"  says  Bretsclmeider,1  "  by  either 
Luther  or  Zwingli,  in  which  they  might  have  exhibited  their 
whole  doctrine  reduced  to  a  system,  and  accompanied  by  the 
necessary  proofs,  and  so  might  have  furnished  a  defence  against 
unnumbered  controversies,  Calvin,  on  the  contrary,  at  an  early 
period,  connected  the  truths  of  the  reformation  in  a  systematic 
form  ;  defended  every  point  with  proofs,  the  strongest  and  most 
excellent  known  at  that  time  ;  and  secured  them  against  all  oppo- 
sition. Of  this,  his  justly  celebrated  'Institutes'  afford  ample 
testimony, — a  work  which  ought  not  to  be  so  neglected  as  it  is 
by  the  theologians  of  our  times, — not  even  by  the  Lutherans.  It 
contains  a  treasure  of  admirable  thoughts,  of  acute  explications, 
and  fine  remarks ;  and  is  written  in  an  elegant,  lively  and  elo- 
quent style.  The  Lutheran  church  has  only  something  similar 
in  Melancthon's  famous  '  Locis  Theologicis,'  which  however  is 
not  to  be  compared  with  Calvin's  work  for  close  arrangement, 
solidity  of  proof,  strength  of  argument,  and  completeness  of 
system." 

F.  A.  Krummacher,  in  his  preface  to  the  translation  of  the 
Institutes,'  supplies  a  deficiency  in  this  judgment,  by  recog- 
nizing in  the  reformer  not  a  theologians  only,  but  a  faithful 
Christian.     "  For    the    rest,  John   Calvin  was    a  man    humanly 

*  This  edition  therefore  was  prepared  before  the  Commentary  to  the  Romans. 
He  had  had  it  a  long  time  in  his  mind,  and  would,  he  says,  have  completed  it  earlier, 
but  that  God  had  for  ten  years  kept,  him  occupied  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Dur- 
ing that  troubled  period  therefore  he  was  employed  with  the  thoughts  here  de- 
veloped. 

+  Reformat  Almanack. 


184  calvin's  divine  knowledge.        [chap.  XIV. 

influenced  by  the  wakefulness  and  struggles  of  his  excited  times, 
but  still  more  wrought  upon  by  that  which  is  higher  than  all 
time.  How  first  apprehended  by  Christ,  he  apprehended  Christ, 
and  apprehended  him  continually  more  and  more,  he  describes 
in  his  work  with  human  words,  but  as  a  master,  powerful  in 
speech.  Far  from  him  was  it  to  assume  the  character  of  an 
apostle ;  but,  like  our  church,  recognizing  no  other  foundation 
than  that  which  is  laid,  he  sought  to  lead  men  back  to  this,  and 
to  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  and  prophets.  Let  us  discover 
human  failings  and  weaknesses  in  him  and  his  works ;  of  these 
he  has  accused  himself  without  ceasing :  let  us  object  to  him,  as 
is  often  done,  that  he  has  indulged  too  largely  in  dialectic  and 
scholastic  subtleties,  in  an  excessive  admiration  of  Augustine, 
in  bold  inquiries  into  the  inscrutable,  in  defining  that  which  is 
indefinable,  in  fostering  a  consuming  zeal  for  the  house  of  God 
against  error  and  false  doctrine,  and  in  giving  loose  to  words  of 
scorn  and  the  scourge  of  his  mouth.  I  cannot  agree  with  those 
who  thus  judge  him,  nor  condemn  so  great  a  man,  even  where 
I  do  not  think  or  believe  as  he  did.  If  faith  is  the  highest  de- 
gree of  spiritual  life,  much  higher  than  all  understanding,  the 
light  of  life  will  have  its  degrees  in  faith,  as  in  knowledge.  Did 
Calvin  attain  now  to  such  an  eminence  in  faith  as  few  even  of 
the  elect  have  reached  I  And  do  we  recognize  the  possibility 
and  probability  of  this  his  position  in  a  peculiar  kind  of  self- 
knowledge  and  intelligence  ;  so  are  we,  at  least,  freed  from  the 
danger  of  regarding,  like  Festus,  the  true  discourse  and  the  sig- 
nificant words  of  a  higher  wisdom  as  foolishness,  and  from  that 
of  charging  the  profound  advocate  of  Divine  Providence  with 
madness.  A  child  is  soon  made  familiar  with  the  starry  heavens 
and  so  forth,  as  to  the  mere  surface  of  things  ;  but  it  is  other- 
wise with  a  Keppler  or  a  Newton.  The  higher  the  position,  by 
so  much  the  more  awful  is  the  view  into  the  depth  below.  Luther 
says  in  his  preface  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  '  Without  suf- 
fering, without  the  cross,  and  the  necessity  of  death,  one  can 
scarcely  treat  of  Providence  without  offence,  and  a  secret  anger 
against  God.  Therefore  it  was  necessary,  perhaps,  that  Adam 
should  die,  before  he  could  suffer  this  thing,  and  drink  the  strong 
wine.  Take  heed  then,  and  drink  not  wine,  if  you  be  still  a 
suckling.  Every  doctrine  has  its  measure,  time  and  age.'  That 
the  inquiries  now  of  such  a  head  should  in  like  measure  extend  to 
the  heights  and  depths  of  Scripture  and  revelation,  as  has  not 
happened  since,  is  as  natural,  as  that  the  common,  flat  and  seep- 


a.d.  1540.]  calvin's  opponents.  185 

tical  exposition  should  lose  sight  of  him  in  its  descent,  and  clap  the 
hands  in  triumph  over  him.  The  translator  acknowledges  that  it 
has  often  occurred  to  him  ;  and  the  reader  may  make  himself  sure 
of  finding  the  same  thing." 

The  theological  spirit  depends  upon  three  qualities  ;  namely, 
first,  fulness  of  belief,  or  the  living  knowledge  of  the  truth  imparted 
by  an  inward  revelation ;  secondly,  power  of  understanding,  capa- 
ble of  comprehending  the  given  truth,  of  reducing  the  fulness  of 
the  thoughts  to  unity,  and  of  distinguishing  them  with  the  sharp- 
ness of  a  dialectic  faculty,  which  solves  all  difficulties,  or  makes 
them  palpable,  and  of  readily  turning  itself  to  controversy ;  and 
lastly,  as  connected  herewith,  exegetical  talent  and  tact  to  build 
the  edifice  upon  the  firm  foundations  of  the  Gospel.  Calvin  united 
these  qualities  in  a  high  degree,  and  was  endowed  at  the  same 
time  with  power  and  excellency  of  speech. 

Still  more  clearly  do  we  recognize  the  acuteness  and  correctness 
of  his  feeling,  when  we  consider  the  rude  character  of  that  dark 
period,  in  which,  without  help,  he  so  quickly  discovered  the  right 
method  of  interpreting  Scripture,  and  brought  so  pure  a  light  to 
illustrate  the  system  of  dogmatics,  together  with  such  truth, 
earnestness  and  candor,  that  he  stands  much  higher  than  many 
of  the  fathers  of  the  church,  while  resting  alone  upon  the  author- 
ity of  Scripture.  Hence  Scaliger  says,  "Solus  inter  theologos 
Calvinus." 

What  still  more  forcibly  proves  the  high  importance  of  the 
work  is  the  fact  that,  by  means  of  translations,  it  soon  became 
known  and  read  through  the  whole  of  Europe.  Icard  translated 
it  into  modern  French,  Paschalis  into  Italian,  Cyprian  of  Va- 
lera  into  Spanish,  Thomas  Norton  into  English.  It  has  been 
often  translated  into  German,  among  others  by  the  theologians 
of  Heidelberg ;  C.  Agricola  translated  it  into  Dutch,  and  versions 
of  it  exist  in  the  language  of  Hungary,  in  Greek,  and  even  in 
Arabic. 

The  three  most  eminent  opponents  of  this  work  were  Pighius, 
answered  by  Calvin  himself;  Peter  Cotton,  the  confessor  of 
Henry  IV.,  who  wrote  against  it  a  work  entitled  'Catholic 
Institutes;'  and  Schultingius,*  who  attacked  it  in  the  work  en- 
titled '  Bibliothecee  Catholicae  et  Orthodoxsc  contra  summam 
totius  Theologiae  Calvinianae  in  Institutionibus  J.  Calvini  et  Locis 
communibus  Petri  Martyris  breviter  comprehensae.'     This  author 

*  Bora  at  Cologne  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century. 


18G  ANALYSIS    OF    THE    £  INSTITUTES.'         [CHAP.  XIV 

attributes  its  celebrity  to  the  order  and  method  which  it  so  re- 
markably exhibits.  In  Paris  the  Sorbonne  ordered  it  to  be  burnt, 
which  was  no  slight  praise.  Important  moreover  as  are  the 
contents  of  the  work,  it  claims  additional  admiration  by  the  ex- 
cellency of  its  style.  Focanus,  for  example,  in  his  dissertation 
'De  Studiis,'  where  he  recommends  the  reading'  of  the  'Insti- 
tutes,' observes — ':  Qui  liber  non  solum  abundat  rebus  optimis, 
sed  et  nitido,  puro,  gravi,  magnifico  et  latinissimo  stylo  conscrip- 
tus  est."* 

FIRST  BOOK. 

The  original  Strasburg  edition  had  seventeen  chapters  ;  but 
in  the  corrected  copy,  which  I  have  now  before  me,  there  are 
twenty-one,  some  being  divided,  and  a  new  one  added.  The 
latter  is,  '  De  Votis,  ubi  de  Monachatu  agitur.'  Of  the  several 
chapters,  the  first  treats  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  the  founda- 
tion of  religion,  and  shows  whence  the  true  rule  of  faith  is  to  be 
derived.  The  second,  of  the  knowledge  of  man,  of  original  sin, 
of  the  natural  corruption  of  man,  of  the  weakness  of  free-will, 
of  the  grace  of  regeneration,  and  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  third,  of  the  law,  of  duty,  and  of  the  use  of  the  law  ;  of  di- 
vine worship,  of  images,  of  oaths,  and  of  festivals.  The  fourth, 
of  vows,  of  monkery.  The  fifth,  of  faith  ;  the  so-named  '  Apostles' 
Creed'  is  expounded.  The  sixth  contains  an  explanation  of  the 
first  part  of  the  creed,  and  the  author  treats  of  the  essence  of 
faith,  of  the  Trinity,  of  God's  omnipotence.  The  seventh  con- 
tains an  explanation  of  the  second  part  of  the  creed,  and  treats 
of  the  incarnation,  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  of 
the  whole  mystery  of  redemption;  and  an  explanation  of  the 
third  part,  in  which  particular  meution  is  made  of  the  divine 
Spirit.  The  eighth  comprehends  the  explanation  of  the  fourth 
part  of  the  creed,  and  speaks  of  the  church,  of  its  government, 
order,  power  and  discipline;  of  the  office  of  the  keys,  of  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  and  of  the  last  resurrection.     The  ninth  treats 

*  Daniel  Colonius  of  Leyden,  in  a  work  on  the  '  Institutes,'  writes — 

"Aureus hie  liber  est,  hunc  tu,  Btudiosajuventua, 
Si  cupie  optatatn  studiorum  attingere  metaui, 
Noctea  atque  dies  in  buccuoq  rerte  Legendo." 

Gerdcs,  Scrinitim  Antiquariwn,  t.  ii.  467. 
So  also  Aneillon,  ii.  67,  and  others. 


A. D.  1540.]  ANALYSIS    OF    THE    'INSTITUTES.'  187 

of  penitence,  which,  according'  to  the  author,  flows  from  faith. 
The  tenth  is  occupied  with  justification  through  faith,  the  merit 
of  works.  The  eleventh,  with  the  similarity  and  dissimilarity  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The  twelfth,  with  Christian  lib- 
erty. The  thirteenth  treats  of  human  traditions.  The  fourteenth 
(here  illogically  thrust  in),  of  predestination  and  the  prescience  of 
God.  The  fifteenth,  of  prayer  and  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  six- 
teenth, of  the  sacraments.  The  seventeenth,  of  baptism.  The 
eighteenth,  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  nineteenth,  of  the  five 
falsely  called  sacraments.  The  twentieth,  of  civil  government. 
The  twenty-first,  of  the  life  of  men  as  Christians. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  form  a  whole  out  of  these  miscellaneous 
materials,  and  Calvin  probably  had  not  time  to  make  the  attempt. 
In  the  last  revisal  he  proceeds  from  the  Apostles'  creed,  and 
adopts  the  simplest  plan. 

Here  the  first  book  treats  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  Creator. 
The  second,  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  Redeemer,  in  Christ,  re- 
vealed to  the  fathers  under  the  law, — to  us  under  the  Gospel. 
The  third,  not  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  the  Holy  Spirit,  but 
practically  of  the  means  whereby  we  are  commanded  to  seek  the 
grace  of  Christ ;  of  the  fruits  which  arise  therefrom,  and  of  the 
consequences  thereof;  and,  accordingly,  of  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  we  become  partakers  of  grace 
through  his  mysterious  operation.  The  fourth  treats  of  the  out- 
ward means  through  which  God  brings  us  into  communion  with 
Christ,  and  establishes  us  therein.  These  are  the  four  parts  of 
the  Apostles'  creed. 

In  this  brief  abstract  no  notice  can  be  taken  of  the  common 
and  well-known  parts  of  the  subject,  but  of  those  points  only 
which  indicate  the  peculiarities  of  the  author's  system  and  mental 
character. 

Calvin  repeatedly  declares  that  he  had  no  purely  scientific  or 
dogmatic  end  in  view  in  the  composition  of  this  work:  it  was 
his  desire  to  lead  good  and  faithful  souls  into  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. The  scientific,  theological  part  of  the  design  was  (as  in 
the  course  of  his  whole  life)  but  an  addition,  a  subordinate  ap- 
pendage to  the  main  object  of  his  labors.  He  never  lost  sight 
of  this  great  Christian  end.  This  is  his  distinguishing  quality, 
and  it  is  evident  in  everything  which  he  did.  The  only  new 
thing  in  the  last  edition  is  that  which  the  experience  of  his  own 
soul  had  furnished  :  it  contains  therefore  a  clearer  demonstra- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.      This  was  occasioned   by  his 


188  ANALYSIS    OF    THE    'INSTITUTES.'  [CHAP.  XIV. 

struggle  against  the  Antitrinitarians,  and  by  his  controversy  with 
Servetus,  Osiander,  and  others  who  appeared  at  a  later  period. 
But  we  cannot  observe  without  admiration  the  quietness  and 
moderation  which  he  preserves  in  the  midst  of  all  his  warmth  and 
eloquence,  and  the  wisdom  which  he  exhibits  in  his  investigation 
of  divine  truth,  except  when  he  falls  upon  his  own  favorite  dog- 
ma. For  all  these  excellencies  he  was  indebted  to  that  vigorous 
faith  which  was  so  deeply  infixed  in  his  soul,  and  the  power  of 
which  is  again  imparted  to  the  reader.  The  perilous  times  in 
which  he  lived  doubtless  contributed  greatly  to  this  remarkable 
development  of  the  energies  of  faith  :  the  very  excitement  of  feel- 
ing would  aid  its  higher  influences. 

To  accomplish  his  purpose,  the  representation  of  truth  as  it 
should  be  known  to  the  Christian,  for  the  edifying  of  faithful  souls, 
he  employed  every  means  at  his  command, — the  holy  Scriptures, 
the  testimony  of  the  fathers,  his  own  experience,  his  reason  and 
his  conscience,  enlightened  by  the  spirit  of  God. 

The  testimony  of  this  blessed  spirit,  witnessing  to  the  con- 
science of  believers  that  the  Scriptures  are  true  (Inst.  lib.  i.  c.  7), 
is  his  fundamental  position.  But  reason  confirms  the  truth  of 
this  testimony.  To  discover  the  truth  by  means  of  hermeneu- 
tical  principles  was  not  his  object,  but  he  employs,  as  far  as  was 
possible  at  that  period,  grammatical  and  historical  illustrations 
to  aid  his  expositions.  The  holy  Scriptures  can  as  plainly  show 
themselves  to  be  true,  as  a  color  that  it  is  white  or  black,  and  a 
taste  that  it  is  bitter  or  sweet.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  one  grand 
proof, — all  others  avail  nothing  without  him.  This  heavenly  feel- 
ing of  conviction  flows  from  an  inward  revelation.  But  Calvin 
entertained  the  same  idea  of  inspiration  as  the  Lutheran  church; 
and  opposed  the  notion  of  the  anabaptists,  who  believed  in  a 
continued  inspiration,  that  is,  that  every  one  may  still  be  in- 
spired, as  the  Apostles  were,  without  the  Word.  His  sentiments 
respecting  the  majesty  of  the  Scriptures  is  powerfully  expressed 
(c.  8).  "Our  hearts  will  become  firmer,  when  we  think  that  it 
is  the  majesty  of  the  contents,  far  more  than  tin'  sweetness  of 
the  language,  which  impresses  us.  It  is  not  without  an  especial 
intention  that  the  greatest  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
are  communicated  to  us  in  an  altogether  unattractive  clothing. 
Read  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Plato  ;  they  will  charm,  enrap- 
ture you.  But  when  you  turn  to  the  Scriptures,  they  will  so 
pierce  your  heart,  whether  you  will  or  not  ;  they  will  impress 
you   in  so  lively  a  manner,  that  the  power  of  the  philosophers 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    SCRIPTURES.  189 

will  seem  to  vanish  in  mere  smoke.  Ut  promptum  sit  perspicere, 
divinum  quiddam  spirare  sacras  Scripturas" 

In  relation  to  this  subject,  Calvin's  letter  to  Cozin*  is  deserving 
of  remark.  He  there  warns  him,  and  plainly  declares  that  he 
would  never  leave  the  way  of  the  Gospel,  nor  adopt  what  was  not 
to  be  found  in  it,  however  Cozin  might  besiege  him  with 
inquiries. 

Calvin  shows,  first,  how  the  knowledge  of  God  was  originally 
imparted  to  us  by  nature,  but  has  been  lost  through  sin  and  the 
fall.  The  works  of  God,  the  universe,  the  government  of  God, 
might  make  Him  known  to  us,  the  author  not  referring  in  this 
place  to  the  argument  from  reason,  but  man  has  darkened  this 
revelation  by  his  wickedness.  Thus  there  now  remains  for  him 
only  the  second  revelation,  the  holy  Scriptures.  The  church  does 
not  determine  the  authority  of  Scripture,  the  church  being  itself 
founded  on  Scripture  ;  but  the  Spirit  works  in  our  hearts,  and 
gives  witness  to  the  truth.  Its  authority  is  established  and  en- 
larged by  the  agreement  of  all  its  parts  among  each  other, — the 
harmony  of  the  Gospels,  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul.  What 
majesty  and  dignity  it  exhibits  throughout !  Other  revelations 
from  God  are  not  necessary. 

God,  as  the  Scriptures  teach,  is  spiritual  and  altogether  separa- 
ted from  the  material  world  :  it  is  therefore  impious  to  represent 
him  in  a  visible  form.  He  is  a  being  in  three  persons.  The 
word  Trinity  must,  by  all  means,  be  retained.  The  author  here 
proves  the  divinity  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  ex- 
plains the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, — God  in  his  entire  greatness 
and  glory. 

The  second  chapter  treats  of  the  creation,  of  good  and  wicked 
angels,  confutes  the  two  principles  of  the  Manicheeans,  and  de- 
scribes the  nature  of  man,  his  power  and  immortality. 

In  the  last  revision  he  treats,  in  the  opening  section,  of  the 
being  of  God,  having  found  latterly  the  word  Trinity  more  and 
more  necessary,  which  was  not  the  case  in  the  second  edition  ; 
although  he  used  it  even  there  occasionally,  and  always  cor- 
rectly ;  with  the  same  clearness  showing  that  there  is  a  distinc- 

*  MS.  Gen.  "  If  you  think  you  have  read  that  I  pushed  forward  Melancthon'a 
agreement  with  me  in  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  you  are  in  error.  I  only  let  fall 
a  single  word,  namely,  that  I  have  a  letter  in  his  own  hand,  in  which  he  say9  that  he 
thinks  as  I  do."  He  adds,  that  neither  Melancthon  nor  he  loved  difficult  questions  or 
paradoxes  ;  that  nothing  however  should  hinder  him  from  acknowledging  what  he  had 
derived  from  the  Word  of  God.  "  Nothing  could  be  learnt  in  the  school  of  that  mas- 
ter which  was  not  useful."     He  warns  his  friend  against  theological  speculation. 


190  ERRORS    OP    SERVETUS.  [CHAP.  XIV 

tion  of  persons,  but  not  a  division  of  the  divine  essence  (cap.  vi. 
De  Fide  par.  18).  But  in  the  third,  he  expatiates  very  fully  on 
the  Trinity,  and  on  the  necessity  of  the  Word. 

There  is  a  threeness  of  persons  in  one  essence  ;  and,  with  Ter- 
tullian,  the  threeness  of  persons  is  a  certain  order  or  economy  in 
God,  which  changes  nothing  in  the  oneness  of  the  essence.  This 
is  followed  by  an  extended  argument  in  proof  of  the  Godhead  of 
Christ  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  system  of  Servetus,  against  whom  he  no  longer  spoke  in 
wrath,  but  rather  as  of  an  unhappy  man,  is  examined  in  the  first 
book  of  the  ;  Institutes'  (c.  xiii.  sec.  22).  Servetus  regarded  the 
Trinitarians  as  Atheists,  because,  according  to  him,  they  divided 
God  into  three  parts.  He  supposed  that  the  persons  are  only 
ideas,  or  images,  which  God  presents  to  us  under  this  or  that 
point  of  view,  without  their  actually  existing  in  the  divine  essence. 
At  the  beginning  there  was  no  distinction  in  God  ;  for  the  Word 
was  also  the  Spirit.  But  since  Jesus  Christ  has  been  revealed 
as  a  God  of  God,  another  God  has  proceeded  from  him,  that  is, 
the  Spirit.  And  although,  as  Calvin  supposes,  Servetus  concealed 
his  impiety  in  saying,  that  the  eternal  Word  of  God  was  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  with  God,  and  the  image  of  his  person  ;  and 
that  the  spirit  was  a  shadow  of  the  Godhead,  yet  he  afterwards 
set  aside  the  Godhead  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Spirit,  by  assert- 
ing that,  according  to  God's  good  pleasure  (dispensed io),  a  part 
of  the  Godhead  was  in  both,  even  as  the  same  spirit  act- 
ually in  us  is  also  a  part  of  God.  and  as  it  is  even  in  wood  and 
stone. 

According  to  this,  one  might  easily  discover  the  difficulty  which 
existed  in  the  mind  of  Servetus,  and  in  the  march  of  his  ideas; 
the  effort  which  he  was  making  to  think  of  God  as  in  Christ,  God 
of  God  manifested  in  time,  and  united  with  Him  by  the  Spirit, 
who  is  also  the  image  or  reflection  of  God,  and  operating  by  the 
same  Spirit  throughout  the  world.  But  it  appears  from  other 
places  that  the  development  of  the  Trinity,  for  the  manifest ation 
of  God  to  man,  was  very  imperfectly  understood  at  that  period. 
Sometimes  God  is  an  idea  (relucentia  idcec),  sometimes  the  persons 
are  also  ideas. 

According  to  another  passage,  he  endeavors  to  show  that 
God  in  bis  wisdom,  or  eternal  idea,  willed  to  become  visible 
through  the  Son,  who  however  is  not  absolutely  one  with  God, 
his  existence  being  dependent  upon  God's  eternal  counsel. 
Christ  and   the  Holy  Spirit  are  his  creatures.     Then  he  again 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    GUARDIAN    ANGELS.  191 

speaks  of  parts  in  God.  Every  part  is  God  himself.  The  souls 
of  the  righteous  are  eternal  in  God,  of  like  substance.  In  other 
places  again,  even  all  created  things  are  actually  one  with  God 
But  still  Servetus  does  not  seem  to  have  been  in  the  way  of 
forming  a  system.  We  shall  see  more  of  this  in  the  third 
part. 

The  fourteenth  chapter  treats  of  the  angels,  which  Calvin  de- 
scribes as  ministers  of  God,  as  sublime  personal  beings,  and  not  as 
mere  energies  of  nature.  We  have  here  a  peculiarity  to  remark. 
He  again  repeats  the  maxim,  that  we  must  speak  of  this  dogma 
with  sobriety  and  circumspection  ;  always  in  dark  and  difficult 
things  depending  only  upon  Scripture,  and  remaining  content  with 
that  which  God  has  told  us ;  searching  Scripture  itself  not  to  sat- 
isfy a  vain  curiosity,  but  for  edification.  It  is  not  God's  design  to 
instruct  us  by  solving  difficult  questions,  but  by  inspiring  our 
hearts  with  true  piety,  with  the  fear  of  his  name,  with  trust,  inno- 
cence, holiness.  Let  us  therefore  be  satisfied  with  this  knowledge, 
in  comparison  with  which  all  other  is  vain. 

Calvin  accordingly  does  not  attempt  to  determine  whether 
every  man  has  a  guardian  angel.  But  as  Christ  says  that  the 
angels  of  little  children  always  behold  the  face  of  their  heavenly 
Father,  he  shows  that  the  care  of  little  children  is  committed  to 
particular  angels.  And  this  must  be  taken  as  a  certain  truth,  that 
not  only  does  an  angel  watch  for  the  well-being  of  every  one  of 
us,  but  that  they  all  together  work  for  our  salvation,  since  it  is 
said,  that  there  is  joy  among  them  all  over  one  sinner  that  re- 
penteth.  Lazarus  also  was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's 
bosom. 

This  belief  in  angels  enriched  for  him  both  life  and  nature. 
He  often  expresses  the  beautiful  conviction,  that  they  were  look- 
ing upon  him,  and  that  he  was  sustaining  his  struggles  in  their 
presence. 

There  are  also  wicked  angels, — personal,  wicked  beings, — ene- 
mies of  man,  murderers  and  liars  from  the  beginning.  God 
created  the  devil,  but  the  evil  in  him  comes  from  the  corruption 
of  his  nature,  which  was  occasioned  by  his  rebellion.  Some  com- 
plain that  the  Scriptures  do  not  tell  us  enough  of  the  fall  of  the 
angels, — of  the  cause,  time,  and  nature  of  that  circumstance. 
But  as  all  this  contributes  in  nowise  to  the  advancement  of 
piety,  it  is  better  that  they  should  be  silent  on  the  subject.  It 
would  be  unfitting  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to  satisfy   our  curiosity 


192  CALVIN    ON   THE    NATURE    OP    MAN.        [ciIAP.  XIV. 

with  such  relations.  With  regard  to  the  conflict  between  God 
and  Satan,  this  is  certain, — the  latter  can  do  nothing  but  what 
God  permits.  If  we  say  that  he  resists  God,  yet  God  is  the  Lord 
of  this  resistance,  so  that  it  is  only  possible  through  his  will  or 
permission.  The  devil  desires  that  which  is  wicked  and  opposed 
to  God  ;  but  because  God  restrains  him  by  his  infinite  power,  he 
can  only  do  that  which  God  wills  ;  and,  whether  he  will  or  not,  he 
serves  his  Creator,  compelled  to  perform  his  work  as  often  as  God 

chooses  to  use  him  for  his  own  ends Thus  the  devils 

may  vex  believers,  but  can  never  conquer  or  overpower  them,  for 
God  guides  and  holds  them  back.  Against  the  wicked,  on  the 
contrary,  they  exercise  the  most  dreadful  tyranny,  treating  them 
as  their  slaves,  and  so  forth. 

It  is  the  work  of  Christ,  and  his  people,  to  bruise  the  head  of 
the  evil  one.  Christ  triumphs  over  him  by  a  continual  victory. 
....  But  the  ungodly  and  disbelieving  are  given  over  to  Satan ; 
and  justly  so,  for  they  have  fallen  under  the  anger  of  God  ;  and 
what  have  they  a  right  to  expect  but  exposure  to  divine  judg- 
ment? All  the  reprobate  have  Satan  for  their  father.  As  be- 
lievers are  recognized  as  children  of  God,  because  they  are  im- 
pressed with  his  image,  so  the  wicked,  bearing  the  likeness  of  the 
devil,  are  known  as  the  children  of  the  devil.* 

At  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  Calvin  takes  a  view  of 
the  great  and  majestic  work  of  God,  and  rejoices  at  the  lordly 
display. 

In  the  fifteenth  chapter  man  is  treated  of,  first  in  his  state  of 
innocency,  and  then  in  his  state  of  ruin.  Without  such  a  con- 
sideration we  could  not  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  God.  The 
original  nature  of  man  was  perfectly  pure  and  holy.  Had  it  not 
been  so,  the  majesty  of  God  would  have  been  spotted,  and  his 
honor  would  have  suffered  harm.  To  uphold  this  was  the  chief 
design.  We  must  deprive  worldly  and  carnal  men  of  every  pre- 
tence, and  exalt  the  righteousness  of  God  above  all  contradic- 
tion. 

The  soul  is  an  immortal  spirit,  but  created  after  the  image  of 
God,  which  image  shines  forth  conspicuously  in  our  renewal 
through  Christ. 

Two  faculties  of  the  soul  are  spoken  of;    the  understanding 

*  The  allusion  cannot  refer  peculiarly  to  a  possession  ;  for  there  are  only  children 
of  God  and  children  of  the  devil.  The  wicked  do  not  give  themselves  as  their  owd, 
to  Satan,  but  are  already  given  over  to  hiin. 


A.D.  1540.]         CALVIN    ON    THE    GOVERNMENT    OF    GOD.  193 

and  the  will.  The  understanding  perceives  and  judges  among 
all  things  what  we  should,  reject  or  take,  and  the  will  chooses  or 
rejects. 

In  this  state  of  integrity  and  innocence,  man,  had  he  willed, 
might  have  attained  to  eternal  life.  Adam  fell  because  he  willed 
it.  Constancy  and  perseverance  were  not  given  him,  and  hence  he 
became  disobedient.  But  yet  he  was  free  to  choose  good  or  evil. 
There  was  also  originally  great  rectitude  in  his  understanding 
and  will.  Such  however  has  been  the  ruin  produced  by  the  fall, 
that  the  free-will  is  subjected  to  a  spiritual  death.  The  soul  was 
free  to  choose  the  good,  and  God  was  not  compelled  so  to  create 
it  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  its  being  able  or  willing  to 
sin.  Why  God  did  not  give  it  the  power  to  persevere  in  inno- 
cency,  remains  among  the  secret  things  of  his  counsel.  We 
must  here  exercise  wisdom  and  caution.  Man  might  have  had, 
perhaps,  ability  to  persevere,  if  he  had  had  the  will ;  but  he  had 
not  the  will  to  be  able  to  do  so.  Still  he  deserves  punishment, 
for  he  received  such  grace  from  God,  that  he  brought  upon  him- 
self, while  still  free,  and  without  compulsion,  the  misery  which  he 
endures.  But  it  was  not  obligatory  upon  God  to  give  him  another 
than  this  weak  will,  which  was  able  to  become  disobedient,  and 
by  its  disobedience  afford  an  occasion  for  the  display  of  divine 
glory. 

In  the  second  edition,  he  introduced  in  this  place  the  whole  of 
his  argument  against  the  free-will  of  man,  a  subject  discussed 
more  logically  in  the  third  edition,  but  in  a  later  part  of  the  work. 
He  contends  that  man  having  lost  his  freedom,  and  now  being 
free  only  to  do  evil,  ought  not  to  be  called  free. 

Having  thus  treated  of  God  and  man,  he  shows  how  the  provi- 
dence and  government  of  God  are  especially  occupied  in  the 
affairs  of  the  human  race.  By  a  general  glance  at  the  world,  God~ 
is  seen  ruling  all  things,  but  so  that,  although  He  makes  use  of 
the  wicked  as  his  instruments,  their  guilt  cannot  be  attributed  to 
Him.  Calvin's  sense  of  the  oneness  of  God  is  characteristically 
displayed  in  this  place,  and  we  feel  the  spirit  of  devotion  which, 
moved  his  soul. 

God  conducts  all  things,  even  those  which  regard  the  imperfec- 
tions and  sufferings  which  come  from  mere  nature.  The  idea 
that  nature  shared  the  fall  of  man  is  not  spoken  of  here,  but  is  in- 
troduced in  another  place. 

Calvin's  main  doctrine,  Predestination,  has  a  double  hold  upon 

vol.  i. — 13 


194  CALVIN    ON    FREE-WILL.  [dlAP.  XIV. 

his  system  ;  first,  that  is,  in  the  doctrine  of  conversion,  as  treated 
of  in  the  third  book  ;  and  here  in  the  doctrine  of  providence.* 
....  God  works  supreme  over  all  things  in  the  world.  Hence 
He  has  a  part  even  in  the  actions  of  the  wicked.  Good  and  evil 
happen  according  to  his  pleasure,  not  merely  by  his  permission, 
an  expression  calculated  to  mislead  us.  To  take  a  glance  at  this 
mystery,  he  acutely  distinguishes  between  the  command  and  the 
will  of  God.  What  is  unrighteous  happens  according  to  the  will 
of  God,  otherwise  it  would  not  happen,  but  not  according  to  his 
command.  It  is  self-evident  that  the  wicked  man  deserves  pun- 
ishment, because  he  has  committed  the  crime,  not  to  honor  God, 
but  knowingly  against  his  command.  All  offences,  however,  are 
made  to  take  their  place  in  the  great  system  of  the  world's  gov- 
ernment. The  subjective  guilt  of  the  wicked  is  here  instanced 
but  still  only  as  he  is  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God 


SECOND  BOOK. 

With  his  usual  caution,  Calvin  takes  from  man,  in  the  follow- 
ing discussion,  all  that  which  tends  to  exalt  him  in  his  own  eyes. 
Original  sin  is  described  according  to  Augustine.  We  are  pol- 
luted in  the  sight  of  God  even  before  we  see  the  light.  The 
curse  rests  upon  man  from  his  mother's  womb.  In  opposition  to 
Pelagius,  original  sin  is  the  inherited  corruption  of  our  nature, 
through  which  we  are  subject  to  the  wrath  of  God,  and  which 
produces  the  works  of  the  flesh.  Man  is  closely  united  with  his 
first  parents,  and  the  evil  is  perpetually  increased,  not  by  imita- 
tion merely,  but  by  propagation.  Paul  names  this  sin.  We  our- 
selves are  guilty  and  answerable  for  our  sins.  It  is  not  the  pun- 
ishment of  Adam's  sin  which  we  suffer,  but  that  of  our  own. 
Our  ruin  must  be  ascribed  to  our  perverted,  not  to  our  pure, 
nature,  as  created  by  God.  The  powers  which  it  originally  en- 
joyed are  all  wasted,  and  have  not  even  the  strength  of  a  reed. 
Man  must  never  place  any  trust  in  his  own  ability,  if  he  would 
uphold  God's  honor  and  glory  in  all  their  excellence.  It  is  a 
species  of  idolatry  to  ascribe  more  to  ourselves  than  we  possess  : 
tfnan  destroys  himself  thereby.  This  humiliation  is  in  the  high- 
est degree  useful  to  us,  for  we  find  again  in  God  all  that  which 
we  have  taken  from  ourselves.     Philosophers,  and  almost  all  the 

*  See  Appendix. 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    THE    LAW.  195 

fathers,  with  the  exception  of  Augustine,  speak  incorrectly  on  this 
subject. 

In  chapter  second,  Calvin  quotes  Origen's  definition,  that  free- 
will is  the  ability  which  man  possesses,  with  the  help  of  the  un- 
derstanding, to  distinguish  good  from  evil ;  and  by  the  force  of 
his  will  to  choose  the  one  or  the  other.  Augustine  says  more 
plainly,  that  it  is  a  power  by  which,  with  the  understanding  and 
the  will,  man  chooses  the  good  when  he  has  the  grace  of  God, 
and  the  evil  when  that  grace  is  wanting.  It  was  Calvin's  con 
viction  that  man  enjoys  this  freedom  only  when  he  is  under  the 
influence  of  God's  especial  grace,  which  grace  God  gives  to  the 
elect  only  by  regeneration.  Free-will  is  lost,  and  it  is  by  grace 
alone  that  the  elect  recover  their  freedom  to  do  good. 

Some  light  remained,  even  after  the  fall,  to  the  human  under- 
standing, in  respect  to  earthly  things,  as  for  example,  politics 
economy,  mechanics,  philosophy,  art ;  but  not  in  regard  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Thence  it  is  that  men  give  heed  to  laws,  jus- 
tice, and  so  forth.  Thus  also  many  noble  gifts  are  sometimes 
seen  in  human  nature.  God  often  permits  this  even  in  ungodly 
men.  There  is  therefore  still  some  good  remaining  in  man,  but 
which  must  also  be  ascribed  to  God  alone.  Especially  is  the  hu- 
man understanding  powerless  when  it  attempts  to  examine  divine 
things,  as  for  example  the  being  of  God,  his  mercy  and  love  to- 
wards us;  salvation,  and  the  rules  which  we  must  follow  in 
order  to  live  according  to  his  law.  Here  the  most  prudent  are 
blind,  as  is  proved  by  daily  experience  and  the  statements  of 
Scripture. 

The  adoption  of  sonship  with  God  is  only  possible  through  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  God's  law  is  strange  to  us  :  Ave 
can  understand  only  the  natural  law.  Therefore,  says  Paul,  the 
heathen  have  their  law  in  the  heart,  according  to  which  they  will 
be  judged  :  but  this  law  gives  no  pure  or  sound  judgment :  it  ex- 
ists only  to  deprive  us  of  all  excuse  before  the  tribunal  of  God. 
The  first  four  commandments  are  unknown  to  this  law,  and  the 
others  are  not  sufficient.  Grace  only,  as  the  Scriptures  prove,  can 
restore  us.  Of  ourselves  we  have  no  good  thoughts.  All  the 
saints  have  prayed  for  the  Holy  Spirit ;  but  even  such  prayer  is 
given  us  by  God. 

Calvin  here  expresses  himself  as  dissatisfied  even  with  Augus- 
tine, who  ascribes  the  perseverance  of  men,  through  God,  not 
to  his  working,  but  only  to  his  providence.  This,  according  to 
Calvin,   is  not  correct ;    and  he  shows   that  Augustine  himself 


196  CALVIN    ON   CORRUPTION.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

admits  that  God  punishes  in  this  manner  the  past  sins  of  men  by 
hardening  their  hearts. 

The  mere  wish  and  desire  of  good  can  in  no  way  prove  the  ex- 
istence of  free-will,  since  we  see  that  the  desire  of  eternal  life  is 
utterly  incapable  of  conducting  us  to  its  attainment.  As  the  will 
is  subjected  to  sin,  and  a  slave,  we  must  regard  it  as  in  bondage, 
and  not  as  free. 

In  chapter  three  it  is  shown  that  the  powers  of  the  understand- 
ing, in  the  same  manner  as  the  will,  are  ruined  and  carnal. 
Thus  man  can  produce  nothing  but  what  is  worthy  of  condem- 
nation. The  virtues  of  the  heathen  are  peculiar  graces  be- 
stowed by  God,  but  spotted  by  a  vain  pride.  Man  may  fall 
necessarily,  and  yet  willingly,  into  sin.  Necessity  is  not  com- 
pulsion. God  is  necessarily  good  ;  the  devil  is  necessarily  evil, 
not  by  compulsion,  but  according  to  their  nature.  Thus  man 
sins  necessarily,  that  is,  according  to  his  nature.  He  commits 
sin  with  his  own  will.  There  is  therefore  no  compulsion  ;  yet  he 
has  not  a  free-will.  A  will  exists,  but  it  is  always  inclined  to 
wickedness.  If  a  man  does  what  is  right,  it  is  from  grace ;  he 
therefore  deserves  punishment,  because  he  resists,  with  his  will, 
the  divine  grace,  which  would  give  him  freedom  to  choose  the 
good. 

Of  the  way  to  conversion,  it  is  said,  God  creates  faith,  and  faith 
the  will  to  good.  Grace  gives  freedom.  The  proofs  in  support  of 
these  statements  are  drawn  from  Scripture  and  Augustine.  Cal- 
vin remarks,  in  this  place,  "  It  is  well  to  let  it  be  known  that  I 
agree  with  this  great  teacher  Augustine,  for  whom  the  church  so 
properly  cherishes  a  profound  reverence." 

God  really  hardens  the  heart  of  the  reprobate,  as  is  said  in 
Scripture.  But  He  is  righteous,  and  does  it  as  a  punishment  for 
past  sins.  He  gives  the  heart  up  to  Satan  for  the  destruction  of 
the  sinner.  Satan,  and  not  God,  has  led  men  to  wickedness.  In 
things  which  are  indifferent,  that  is,  neither  good  nor  bad, 
and  pertaining  rather  to  this  than  to  another  life,  some  writers 
have  supposed  that  we  are  entirely  free.  But  Calvin,  carefully 
considering  the  consequence,  asserts  that  we  are  even  in  these 
things  under  the  guidance  of  divine  grace  and  providence  ;  against 
the  lax  opinion  of  the  Lutheran  church,  which,  we  know  not 
why,  admits  of  a  free-will  "in  affairs  civil  and  natural."  This  is 
illustrated  by  examples. 

Pelagius  and  the  new  Pelagians  are  fundamentally  opposed.     A 
characteristic  answer  is  returned  to  the  objection  that  God  would 


A.D.  1540.]         CALVIN    ON    MEANS    OF    SALVATION.  197 

not  have  given  us  a  law  had  he  not  been  free.  He  has  given  it, 
says  Calvin,  that  we  may  learn  to  consider  our  weakness  and  in- 
capacity, and  to  pray  to  him  to  give  us  strength  to  fulfil  it.  But 
this  system  of  doctrine  is  not  allowed  to  disturb  the  force  of 
practical  precepts;  for  it  is  continually  said  to  man,  Be  active, 
work  by  the  grace  of  God  !  The  grace  of  God  is  everywhere 
introduced. 

This  doctrine,  which  is  so  closely  united  with  that  of  election 
by  grace,  was  fully  exhibited  in  the  second  edition. 

Since  man  was  altogether  lost,  and  had  no  strength  in  him,  he 
must  necessarily  seek  his  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ.  Calvin's 
words  are  here  very  impressive  and  beautiful.  "  The  knowledge 
of  God  himself  would  be  wholly  useless  to  us,  if  we  did  not  know 
Him  as  a  Father  and  Redeemer  in  Jesus  Christ.  Partakers  as 
we  are  in  Adam's  rebellion,  wherever  we  cast  our  eyes,  the  curse 
of  God  appears  before  us.  It  has  been  poured  out  upon  all  crea- 
tures on  account  of  our  offence  ;  it  encompasses  heaven  and 
earth,  and  keeps  our  souls  in  a  state  of  horror  and  despair.  Al- 
though God  affords  on  all  sides  evidence  of  his  goodness,  yet  we 
cannot  learn  from  the  contemplation  of  the  world  that  He  is  our 
Father,  for  our  consciences  convince  us  that  we  deserve  to  be 
punished  and  rejected,  and  that  we  are  unworthy  to  be  called  his 
children.  The  knowledge  of  God  can  bring  neither  the  Jew  nor 
the  heathen  to  a  state  of  salvation  without  the  Redeemer.  A  law 
was  given  to  the  people  of  old  to  guide  them  to  the  hope  of  salva- 
tion, till  the  coming  of  the  Lord." 

Calvin  next  shows  in  what  sense  the  law  was  abolished,  and 
gives  a  full  exposition  of  the  ten  Commandments.  He  speaks 
also  of  the  great  commandment,  of  the  relation  and  similarity  of 
the  old  and  new  Testaments,  of  Christ  as  man,  of  his  two  natures, 
his  threefold  office,  and  his  death. 

God,  he  continues,  finds  in  man  nothing  but  what  is  hateful 
and  worthy  of  condemnation,  till  we  are  justified.  We  are  re- 
deemed through  the  obedience  of  the  Lord.  His  offering,  that  is 
his  death,  was  voluntary.  He  struggled  as  man.  Two  thoughts 
here  occur,  which  are  well  calculated  to  afford  us  consolation  and 
to  strengthen  our  faith.  They  are  these,  that  Christ  was  reckoned 
among  the  transgressors,  and  freely  took  their  place,  because  he 
undertook  to  die  not  for  righteousness  but  for  sin.  His  judge 
himself  pronounced  him  innocent.  Hence  He  paid  a  debt  which 
He  did  not  owe.     This  is  our  absolution.     All  that  could  make 


198  CALVIN    ON    THE    NATURE    OF    FAITH.       [CHAP.  XIV 

us  appear  guilty  before  God  was  borne  by  Christ,  so  that  He  suf- 
fered the  punishment  which  should  have  fallen  upon  us.  Our 
faith  in  this  substitution  must  give  us  courage,  whenever  doubts 
and  fears  torment  our  minds. 

The  death  upon  the  cross  involves  also  another  mystery.  As 
the  cross  was  accursed  in  the  sight  of  men  and  by  the  law  of 
God,  so  Christ  took  upon  himself  the  curse  which  belonged  to  us  ; 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  sin-offering  in  former  times.  Hence 
He  bore  the  whole  curse  of  sin.  But  He  was  not  destroyed  by 
this  curse  :  on  the  contrary,  He  has  destroyed  the  curse.  Thus, 
faith  finds  the  absolution  of  our  sins  in  the  condemnation  of 
Christ,  and  the  blessing  in  the  curse. 


THIRD  BOOK. 

The  Holy  Ghost  first  produces  faith,  but  only  in  the  elect.  If 
others  feel  the  goodness  of  God,  their  knowledge  is  only  dark  and 
vain  ;  the  light  enlightening  them  soon  vanishes.  From  the 
children  of  God.  on  the  contrary,  it  can  never  be  taken.  True 
faith  is  here  described  with  great  clearness.  In  the  second  chap- 
ter he  speaks  of  the  fight  of  faith  ;  the  beginning  of  faith  ;  as  soon 
as  this  even  remotely  exercises  its  influence  upon  us,  we  immedi- 
ately behold  the  face  of  God,  and  discover  how  mildly  and  friend- 
ly it  is  directed  towards  us  ;  still  indeed  at  a  great  distance,  but 
so  surely  discerned  that  we  know  for  certainty  we  have  not  erred. 
Then  we  continually  approach  nearer  and  nearer. 

Faith  is  a  steadfast  confidence.  An  excellent  explanation  is 
here  given  of  the  objection,  that  all  the  saints  have  been  deeply 
and  vehemently  shaken  by  the  greatness  of  their  temptations  and 
struggles,  as  David  for  example.  We  do  not  suppose,  he  says. 
that  faith  necessarily  brings  with  it  such  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  conviction,  that  no  doubt  can  ever  exist,  or  that  fear  can  exer- 
cise no  influence.  On  the  contrary,  we  say  that  believers  are  in 
a  state  of  constant  strife  against  their  own  unbelief;  so  far  are 
we  from  supposing  that  their  minds  enjoy  an  uninterrupted  deep 
repose,  exposed  to  no  storms.  But  still  we  assert,  that  however 
they  may  be  assailed,  they  never  lose  that  linn  trust  which  they 
originally  obtained  from  the  mercy  of  God. 

That  which  follows  on  the  struggles  of  David  is  very  noble. 
The  faith  of  the  elect  is  invincible.     If  the  believer  fears,  he  casts 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON   JUSTIFICATION.  199 

himself  into  the  arms  of  divine  mercy;  if  God  pursues  him,  he 
still  hopes  in  him.  He  bears  not  with  disbelief;  he  strives  against 
it,  and  continues  the  conflict  till  it  yields  to  his  attacks.  Still  in 
this  life  we  never  attain  to  such  a  degree  of  happiness  that  faith 
may  fill  all  the  passages  of  our  soul,  without  leaving  a  single 
opening. 

Penitence  which  springs  from  faith  is  a  change  of  life,  so  that 
the  image  of  God  is  again  impressed  upon  us  ;  the  fruit  of  peni- 
tence. 

The  sin  which  is  never  forgiven  consists  in  the  rejection  of 
God's  Word,  against  the  teaching  of  conscience.  God  casts  away 
such  souls,  because  they  pertain  to  the  condemned.  Confession 
before  a  minister  is  indeed  allowed,  but  it  is  to  God  only  that  it  is 
really  necessary  to  confess.  The  Christian  life  is  described  in  a 
very  edifying  and  practical  manner.  Good  works  are  necessary, 
but  they  in  nowise  justify.  Justification  is  the  imputation  of  the 
merits  of  Christ.  St.  James  spoke  only  of  the  activity  of  justify- 
ing faith.  Here  follows  the  doctrine  of  Christian  liberty,  and  the 
very  beautiful  and  simple  explanation  of  prayer,  which  must  com- 
fort every  believing  soul ;  as  must  all  doctrines  especially  which 
appeal  to  the  heart,  which  treat  of  practical  things,  and  are  set 
forth  with  earnestness  and  warmth. 

Since  it  was  Calvin's  main  design,  in  his  system  of  belief,  to 
exhibit  the  glory  of  God,  and  under  the  influence  of  profound 
devotion,  to  ascribe  everything  to  his  power,  while  he  denied  to 
man,  sunk  in  dust  and  iniquity,  every  pretension  to  honor ;  so 
was  he  necessarily  led  to  adopt  the  strongest  view  of  the  doc- 
trine of  election.  God  is  the  source  of  all  things,  even  of  the 
will  to  do  good,  and  by  him  are  all  things  ruled.  Hence  elec- 
tion consists  with  divine  providence,  and  then  only  are  we  con- 
vinced that  salvation  springs  from  the  undeserved  mercy  of  God, 
when  we  have  become  acquainted  with  the  eternal  election,  by 
which  God  determines  some  to  glory,  but  denies  it  to  others, 
without  reference  to  the  conduct  of  either.  This  election  re- 
mains a  profound  mystery,  and  must  not  be  curiously  examined. 
But  it  is,  notwithstanding,  a  profitable  doctrine,  calculated  to  de- 
stroy from  the  very  roots  all  human  pride  and  assumption.  Here 
occurs  the  startling  statement,  that  God,  for  the  glory  of  his  right- 
eousness, consigns  some  to  damnation;  and  the  expression  brought 
against  Calvin,  "  a  terror-moving  decree  ;"  dccrctum  quidem  hor- 
ribile* 

*  This    celebrated  place,    Dccretum    quidem    horribile    fatcor,  which    does    hon- 


200  CALVIN    ON    PREDESTINATION.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

Calvin  himself  shrunk  from  the  abyss  which  he  contemplated. 
But  so  great  was  his  trust  in  God,  and  so  firm  his  faith,  that  he 
ventured  upon  that  which  was  most  daring,  most  violent  in  this 
doctrine.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  God  must  plainly  discern  what 
will  take  place  among  men,  and  for  this  reason  indeed,  that  He 
himself  has  ordained  it.  The  reprobate  are  given  up  to  their  evil 
dispositions,  that  the  perfect  and  incomprehensible  righteousness 
of  God  may  be  glorified  by  their  condemnation. 

However  terrible  this  system  may  appear,  no  less  grand  is  it  in 
the  eyes  of  every  one  who  penetrates  it  with  a  feeling  of  the  great- 
ness of  God,  and  with  faith.  It  is  fundamentally  nothing  more 
than  the  simple  declaration  of  the  fact,  that  sin  and  wickedness, 
the  curse  and  damnation,  now  exist,  we  know  not  wherefore, 
but  as  being  possible,  in  the  sight  of  the  Holy  and  Almighty  ;  even 
as  we  can  so  little  understand  why  God  has  created  anything 
imperfect,  or  why  especially  anything  exists, — why  God  and  man 
exist.  The  whole  is  an  inexplicable  mystery.  Hence  many  of 
the  most  worthy  Christians  of  all  ages,  and  even  the  most  obe- 
dient in  their  lives  and  practice  to  the  divine  commands,  have 
from  conviction  received  this  doctrine,  and  acknowledged  it  as  a 
part  of  the  Gospel. 

Calvin  felt  his  real  greatness  in  the  treatment  of  this  doctrine ; 
he  felt  that  he  had  taken  a  right  position,  that  he  was  in  his 
proper  atmosphere  ;  yea,  he  felt  himself  so  raised  up,  that  he  re- 
garded it  as  necessary  for  salvation,  and  believed  it  to  be  a  pecu- 
liar duty  to  contend  for  this  doctrine  with  all  the  means  at  his 
command,  to  make  it  comprehensible  to  all,  and  to  implant  it 
in  the  church.  Thus  it  is  that  he  so  often  refers  to  this  dogma 
in  his  writings,*  that  he  was  so  convinced  that  every  one  who 
knew  the  Scriptures  must  agree  with  him,  and  that  he  com- 
plains that  Melancthon  did  not  altogether  harmonize  with  him 
in  this  respect,  and  believed  that  he  concealed  his  real  opinion 
from  fear.  "  For  myself,  I  openly  confess  that  my  conscience 
will  not  allow  me  to  yield  in  this  point;  for  you  seem  to  write 
of  free-will  too  philosophically ;  and  when  election  is  spoken  of, 

or  to  his  feelings,  has  also  served  as  the  foundation  of  abuse.  Ancillon,  Melan- 
ges Critiques,  p.  37.  People  accuse  Calvin,  says  that  writer,  of  describing 
Bod's  decrees  ;is  horrible,  whereas  he  simply  meant  that  we  ought  to  tremble 
at  contemplating  this  mystery  ;  as  he  himself  expresses  it  in  the  French  version  of 
the  '  Institutes.'  Rivet,  t.  iii.,  in  his  treatise,  '  Apologeticus,'  etc.,  says  the  same 
thing. 

*  In  his  Commentaries  :  Romans  ix.,  Genesis  on  Pharaoh,  Jerem.  Lament,  iii.  38, 
Pb.  cxli.  8.  Also  in  particular  treatises,  as  in  the  Dc  Predestinatione,  that  against 
Pighiue,  Castalio,  Sermons  on  Job,  <fec. 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    PREDESTINATION.  201 

you  will  only  accommodate  yourself  to  the  common  notions  of  the 
human  understanding." 

Lastly,  he  knew  well  what  were  the  difficulties  connected  with 
this  doctrine ;  but  he  believed  that,  as  it  is  found  in  Scripture,  it 
was  not  lawful  to  keep  it  from  the  people.  In  the  same  letter  he 
calls  the  doctrine  a  very  complicated  one. 

After  this  powerful  statement,  Calvin  shows  mankind  the  abyss 
of  eternal  life  and  eternal  death.  His  profound  sense  of  the 
greatness  and  glory  of  God  led  him,  it  is  probable,  to  this  contem- 
plation ;  or  we  may  attribute  it  to  the  ardent  sincerity  with  which 
he  loved  to  exhibit  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  regarded  it  as  his 
bounden  duty  to  hide  nothing  which  they  contain  ;  or  further, 
to  his  courage  and  magnanimity,  to  his  agreement  with  Augus- 
tine, and  even  to  the  natural  conclusion  of  his  understanding. 
According  to  Amnion's  remark,  all  energetic  minds  incline  to  this 
doctrine ;  while  weaker  men,  as  Pelagius,  Erasmus,  Melancthon, 
would  adopt  far  milder  views.  I  may  observe,  on  the  contrary, 
that  this  is  not  always  the  case  ;  but  that  all  the  reformers  and 
their  forerunners,  as  Huss,  Wickliff,  and  Waldo,  received  this  doc- 
trine ;  that  is,  all  those  Christians  who  hold  most  strictly  to  the 
Scriptures.  The  strongest  arguments  for  or  against  this  doctrine 
cannot  be  introduced  in  this  place,  but  must  be  reserved  for  the 
third  part,  in  which  we  shall  describe  Calvin's  controversy  with 
the  Pelagians. 

The  doctrine  of  election  was  so  interwoven  with  every  feeling 
of  his  heart,  he  had  so  guarded  it  against  the  host  of  objections 
to  which  it  was  exposed  (lib.  iii.  c.  21),  that  we  must  be  silent  on 
this  subject.  Although,  says  Calvin,  the  moderation  is  praise- 
worthy which  teaches  us  to  approach  the  secrets  of  God  with  great 
caution,  yet  we  may  even  here  go  too  far ;  and  hence  those  who 
say  nothing,  effect  little  good,  the  rashness  of  the  human  mind 
being  with  such  difficulty  suppressed.  Let  us  therefore  abide 
steadfastly  by  Scripture,  that  no  one  may  be  able  to  accuse  us  of 
depriving  believers  of  that  which  is  said  respecting  election,  or  of 
charging  the  Holy  Spirit  with  teaching  things  which  ought  to  be 
kept  concealed.  To  express  it  in  few  words,  he  means,  that  the 
source  of  election  can  in  nowise  be  prescience,  but  the  pure  will 
of  God,  it  being  impossible  that  the  prescience  of  God  should  be 
passive.  He  replies  to  objectors  by  an  appeal  to  Scripture  and 
St.  Augustine. 

To  the  main  objection,  that  it  must  be  unjust  to  destine  the 


202  CALVIN    ON    PREDESTINATION.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

reprobate  to  eternal  condemnation,  without  regard  to  their  ac- 
tions, he  replies  in  the  following1  characteristic  manner  (lib.  iii.  c. 
23): — "If  such  thoughts  enter  the  mind  of  believers,  they  must 
surely  see  how  rash  and  foolish  it  is  to  inquire  into  the  ground  of 
God's  will,  this  will  being  with  justice  the  cause  of  everything 
which  happens.  Then,  if  any  ground  exist,  something  must 
have  gone  before,  of  which  we  can  form  no  conception.  The 
will  of  God  is  so  entirely  the  grand  rule  of  all  righteousness,  that 
whatever  He  wills  must  be  regarded  as  righteous,  because  He 
wills  it.  If  we  ask,  therefore,  why  God  has  done  this  or  that, 
the  answer  must  be,  because  He  willed  it.  If  we  go  further,  and 
ask,  why  did  He  so  will  it,  then  we  look  for  something  which  is 
greater  and  more  powerful  than  the  will  of  God  himself,  which 
there  cannot  be.  Let  the  rashness  of  man  therefore  acknowledge 
that  there  are  limits  to  speculation  :  let  it  not  seek  after  that  which 
does  not  exist,  lest  it  should  lose  sight  of  that  which  does.  This 
will  serve  to  restrain  those  who  think  reverentially  of  the  secret 
things  which  belong  to  God  ;  and  as  for  the  impious  who  do  not 
fear  openly  to  mock  at  God,  God  will  himself  defend  his  right- 
eousness against  them,  and  convince  them  that  they  cannot  es- 
cape bis  judgments." 

In  the  following  chapter  (24th),  Calvin  upholds  the  doctrine  of 
election  as  independent  of  merit,  and  as  resulting  only  from  the 
will  of  God.  This  election  becomes  known  through  the  actual 
calling,  which  consists  in  the  preaching  of  the  Word  and  the  il- 
lumination of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  proof  of  this  we  have  the  tes- 
timony of  the  Bible,  the  call  of  Abraham,  the  witness  of  the 
apostle  John  ;  we  know  that  we  are  his  children,  through  the 
Spirit  which  He  has  given  us. 

Many  fall  into  error  from  supposing  that  the  will  and  the  faith 
of  a  man  are  distinct;  as  if  the  will  of  man  were  higher  than  God, 
and  as  if  his  faith  depended  on  himself. 

The  proof  of  calling  is  faith  in  Christ,  but  we  must  never 
fathom  the  mystery  of  our  election  !  Almost  all  ask,  whence 
comes  our  salvation?  From  election  !  But  how  is  this  revealed 
to  us?  Thence  often  springs  despair.  This  doctrine  is  as  an 
ocean,  upon  which  we  may  suffer  shipwreck,  but  upon  which 
we  may  sail  safely,  if  we  avoid  curiosity.  They  plunge  them- 
selves into  an  abyss  of  misery,  who  venture  upon  inquiries  of 
tin-  kind  without  the  Word  of  God  ;  while  they  who  view  the 
subject  in  its  proper  order,  may  derive  therefrom  a  large  meas- 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    ON    PREDESTINATION.  203 

ure  of  consolation.  We  began  with  our  calling,  and  upon  that 
we  stand  firm.  We  look  to  Christ,  on  whom  rests  all  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  Father,  and  in  whom  alone  He  can  love  us.  Not 
in  ourselves,  not  even  in  God,  but  in  Christ  alone  do  we  find  the 
sure  proof  of  our  calling,  when  we  feel  ourselves  in  true  commu- 
nion with  him. 

Again,  however,  he  speaks  against  the  security  of  the  elect, 
salvation  being  gained  with  fear  and  trembling.  Many  are 
called,  even  the  godless,  but  not  with  an  inward  calling.  The 
reprobate  hear  not  the  Word  of  God  ;  or  if  they  hear  it,  are  hard- 
ened. God  has  not  predestinated  them.  He  might  indeed 
change  their  evil  will,  because  He  is  almighty  ;  but  He  will  not. 
And  why  not?  This  is  known  only  to  himself.  Nor  must  we, 
says  Calvin,  in  the  words  of  Augustine,  wrish  to  know  more  than 
is  necessary. 

But  that  the  reprobate  do  not  heed  the  Word  of  God  which  is 
preached  to  them,  is  a  sure  sign  of  their  wickedness  :  to  this 
wickedness  they  have  become  subject,  because  God  in  his  right- 
eous but  incomprehensible  judgment  has  raised  them  up  to  glori- 
fy his  power  by  their  condemnation. 

When  the  godless  hear  this,  they  say  that  God  is  playing  cruel- 
ly with  these  poor  sinners,  according  to  his  own  irresistible  might ; 
but  we  know  that  men  are  guilty  of  many  offences,  and  suffer 
only  what  is  just.  If  we  cannot  comprehend  why  this  is,  we  must 
submit  ourselves,  and  be  content  to  remain  ignorant  of  things 
where  God  only  allows  us  to  admire  the  depths  of  his  wisdom,  and 
to  adore.* 

Salvation,  indeed,  is  offered  to  all.  It  is  God's  will  that  all 
should  receive  help;  but  he  has  predestinated  only  a  few,  and 
these  only  understand  the  call.  As  God  deprives  man  of  free-will, 
there  are  two  wills,  say  objectors,  in  God  ;  one  which  wills  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  the  other  which  wills  the  salvation  of  only 
some.  Calvin  denies  this,  but  observes,  that  the  knowledge  of 
this  mystery  is  reserved  for  the  last  day,  and  considers  that  if 
the  dispute  were  fairly  and  properly  conducted,  men  would  at 
length,  like  Paul,  be  silent  on  the  verge  of  this  abyss,  and  feel 
the  force  of  his  words,  "  Who  art  thou  that  re  plies  t  against 
God  !'t     This  last  admission  shows,  that  he  was  well  aware  of 


*  This  chapter  shows  that  Calvin  was  exposed  to  much  opposition  on  account  of 
this  doctrine,  in  the  exercise  of  his  pastoral  duties. 
f  Romans  ix.  20. 


204  CALVIN    ON    THE    CHURCH.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

the  difficulties  attending  the  doctrine-,  and  of  the  force  of  the  ob- 
jections by  which  it  was  opposed. 

This  development  of  the  doctrine,  the  hard  places,  it  may  par- 
ticularly be  mentioned,  exist  in  the  Strasburg  edition.  But  this 
chapter  is  still  more  carefully  labored  in  the  last  edition.  I  have 
not  found  the  Decretum  horribile  in  the  first  and  second  revisal, 
this  place  having  probably  been  introduced  in  answer  to  later  ob- 
jections. 


FOURTH  BOOK. 

It  is  the  church  which  educates  the  faithful.  Salvation  ex- 
ists in  the  church  alone.  Separation  from  the  true  church, 
though  it  be  imperfect,  is  sin.  A  glimmering  of  light  only  re- 
mains in  the  catholic  church.  The  author  describes  the  signs 
of  the  true  church,  and  carefully  points  out  how  it  was  gradually 
lost  under  the  papacy.  God's  Word  is  the  sole  foundation  of 
the  power  of  the  church.  The  authority  of  councils  is  greatly 
limited  thereby,  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  church  itself  depends 
on  the  office  of  the  keys  imparted  to  it  by  Christ.  In  addition 
to  these,  the  principal  points  referred  to  are  ecclesiastical  and 
temporal  punishments,  moderation  in  church  property,  the  hon- 
orable rank  of  the  clergy,  and  vows.  The  whole  doctrine  of 
discipline  is  found  fully  treated  of  in  the  second  edition.  As  far 
as  it  was  possible,  he  put  all  the  opinions  here  expressed  into 
practice  during  his  residence  at  Strasburg,  but  much  more  com- 
pletely as  soon  as  he  came  to  Geneva.  He  was  prevented  by 
the  force  of  circumstances  from  employing  them  even  there  in 
the  same  manner  as  they  are  here  represented,  but  they  have  ex- 
ercised a  living  influence  in  the  discipline  of  the  French  reformed 
church.  We  shall  say  no  more  on  this  subject  in  the  present 
chapter,  the  doctrine  of  discipline  and  the  relation  of  the  church  to 
the  state  being  especially  treated  of  in  the  second  part  of  the 
work.  For  an  excellent  account  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  we  may  refer  to  lib.  iv.  c.  17.  The  following  passages 
will  explain  his  views  of  infant  baptism. 

Calvin  acknowledges  baptism  to  be  a  sacrament,  but  he  does 
not  suppose  that  a  child  is  lost  because  it  is  not  baptized.*     This 

E  184. — "Cum  igitur  nullus  in  te  neglectus  baptismi  deprehendatur,  privatio 
filiua  int'.mii  oocere  nun  potuit,  quuin  ante  cxccsserit  (Juan)  tibi  commode  ad  baptismum 
offer  re  liceret." 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER. 

view  confirms  the  now  commonly  received  opinion,  and  lessens 
the  necessity  of  the  sacraments. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  insists  that  baptism  ought  to  be  always 
publicly  administered  (in  coetu  fidelium),  that  the  presence  of  a 
large  number  of  persons  is  necessary,  and  that  the  rite  must  be 
performed  by  a  preacher.  He  did  not  allow  women  to  baptize, 
Christ  having  committed  the  duty  to  his  apostles  only. 

In  the  229th  letter  of  the  Lausanne  edition,  there  is  a  very  ex- 
cellent, distinct  declaration  against  the  necessity  of  infant  bap- 
tism, which  is  described  as  only  an  obsignation,  and  introduced 
simply  because  God  said  that  He  would  be  the  God  of  Abraham 
and  of  his  children  (Gen.  xvii.  7) : — "  In  a  word,  unless  we  would 
overthrow  every  principle  of  religion,  we  must  admit  that  sal- 
vation does  not  depend  upon  the  baptism  of  a  child,  but  that  it 
is  merely  consigned  by  baptism.  Whence  it  follows  that  it  is 
not  precisely  nor  simply  necessary.  It  is  rightly  remarked,  that 
the  thief  upon  the  cross,  and  many  martyrs,  went  unbaptized  into 
heaven. 

"  And  that  all  doubt  may  be  the  better  removed,  let  this  princi- 
ple be  always  borne  in  mind,  that  baptism  does  not  confer  upon 
infants  the  power  of  becoming  sons  and  heirs  of  God  ;  but  that, 
because  they  are  in  that  position  and  degree  in  relation  to  God, 
the  grace  of  adoption  is  sealed  in  their  flesh  by  baptism.  Other- 
wise the  anabaptists  rightly  deny  them  this  sacrament."* 

SLIGHT    DIFFERENCES    BETWEEN    CALVIN    AND    THE    OTHER 
REFORMERS. 

The  reformers,  Luther  and  Calvin,  agree  in  their  views  as  to 
the  main  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  the  Trinity,  original  sin,  elec- 
tion, eternal  life,  the  insufficiency  of  works,  and  justification  by 
faith  alone.  But  the  feeling  of  God's  unity  and  omnipotence  had 
not  the  same  influence  on  Luther's  mind  as  on  Calvin's  ;  nor  was 
the  theological  deduction  equally  clear  in  the  system  of  the  for- 
mer, his  views  not  being  all  derived  from  a  simple  fundamental 
principle. 

Both,  after  the  example  of  Augustine,  ascribed  conversion  to 

*  In  his  second  answer  to  Westphal,  he  also  states  his  liberal  views  on  the  subject 
of  baptism.  He  asks  if  the  hypocrisy  of  Simon  Magus  no  longer  existed  when  he 
had  been  baptized.  The  carelessness  and  stupidity  of  many  who  come  to  the  holy 
table  are  also  instanced  to  the  same  purpose.  Calvin  means  that  the  grace  of  God 
can  work  at  an  earlier  or  later  period,  and  is  not  confined  to  the  moment  when  bap- 
tism is  conferred. 


206  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

the  Holy  Spirit  alone,  man  being  altogether  incapable  of  either 
beginning,  or  aiding  in,  the  work  of  his  own  conversion.  Hence 
it  follows,  that  conversion  and  reprobation  depend  on  God  alone. 
But  Luther  does  not  insist  so  strongly  as  Calvin  on  this.  He 
therefore  left  a  less  profound  impression  on  his  church  of  the 
doctrine  generally.  A  more  popular  view  of  the  subject  being 
afterwards  adopted,  the  church  expressed  itself  less  strictly 
against  the  doctrine  of  free-will  (which,  even  in  the  Calvinistic 
system,  is  only  apparently  rejected),  and  adopted  the  notion  of 
conditional  election. 

The  reformed  theology  was  founded  on  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation, and  on  that  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  its  two  main  pillars 
and  supports. 

With  regard  to  the  former,  Calvin  has  spoken  as  powerfully  as 
Luther  on  the  imputation  of  Christ's  merits,  the  real  groundwork 
of  the  whole  reformation.  But  Calvin  represented  justification  in 
union  with  predestination,  as  resting  altogether  and  exclusively 
upon  it.  Luther  only  insisted  that  justification  is  connected  with 
our  eternal  salvation  ;  and  though  he  strongly  supported  the  doc- 
trine of  election,  it  was  not  as  a  fundamental  principle  with  which 
everything  in  his  system  was  necessarily  connected.  Hence  Lu- 
ther could  believe  that  the  justified  might  fall  from  grace,  whereas 
Calvin  considered  that  grace  once  received  could  never  be  lost. 
"  He  who  has  the  Holy  Ghost,  has  Him  forever."*  From  these 
principles  it  follows,  according  to  Calvin,  that  baptism  is  not 
necessary  to  salvation.  The  three  positions  are  closely  connected 
with  each  other,  and  show  in  the  conclusion  drawn  from  them  by 
the  reformer  what  Bossuet  had  already  so  justly  remarked.  If  we 
be  assured  that  salvation  is  assigned  us  by  God's  decree,  then 
grace  and  the  Holy  Spirit  can  never  leave  us  ;  and  if  faith  alone 
justifies,  baptism  cannot  be  necessary  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
or  to  the  procuring  of  grace,  but  is  only  a  sign  that  all  these  have 
been  already  received. 

Little  children  therefore  are  endowed  with  grace,  though  not 
baptized,  because  they  are  born  in  the  holy  covenant.  "With 
Luther,  on  the  contrary,  baptism  was  essential,  and  was  connect- 
ed with  exorcism.  Even  according  to  Calvin,  baptism  is  very 
profitable  to  them,  because  the  sacrament  affords  indications  of 
grace,  which  promote  the  new-birth. 

■;  Anti.l.  Cone.  Trid.  in  Sess.vi.caji.  18,  11. — "Suam  salutem  extra  periculum 
i  W  quia  in  maim  Dei  sit."  lnstit.  1.  iii.  '2. — "Fidelia  non  est,  nisi  qui  suae  salutia 
securiiati  inoixus  diabolo  et  morti  confidenter  insultet." 


A. D.  1540.]  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  207 

The  imputation  of  Adam's  offence  to  his  descendants  is  not 
distinctly  stated  in  Calvin's  system,  although  the  sin  of  Adam  is 
in  the  child,  which  on  that  account  is,  in  the  eyes  of  God,  deserv- 
ing of  punishment,  as  if  it  had  actually  sinned. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  second  great  difference 
between  these  reformers,  in  the  observations  on  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per ;  and  the  subject  will  be  further  considered  in  the  third  part 
of  the  work,  where  attention  will  be  directed  to  the  sacramental 

controversy This  difference  of  opinion  led  afterwards   to 

the  dispute  on  the  Communicatio  Idiomatum.  Whilst  the  Lu- 
therans asserted  the  ubiquity  of  Jesus,  through  the  transfusion  of 
the  divine  properties  of  his  soul  into  his  earthly  body,  and  accused 
the  Calvinists  of  Nestorianism,  or  of  separating  the  human  and 
divine  attributes  in  the  person  of  the  Redeemer,  the  Calvinists  on 
the  contrary  declared  the  Lutherans  guilty  of  Eutychianism,  or 
of  confusing  the  properties  of  the  two  natures,  and  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  the  ubiquity  as  untenable  and  monstrous.  This  trans- 
fusion of  the  qualities  essential  to  the  divine  nature  of  Christ  into 
his  human  nature,  Calvin  rejected,  during  the  controversy,  in  the 
most  determined  manner,  and  insisted,  that  the  glorified  Christ, 
with  his  body,  can  be  found  by  the  power  of  faith  in  heaven  only, 
and  in  one  denned  place. 

A  third  difference  arose  from  their  views  on  images,  which 
Calvin  altogether  rejected,  while  Luther  retained  them ;  and,  cu- 
rious enough  also,  the  false  division  of  the  Commandments  which 
bear  upon  this  point,  so  that  by  the  combination  of  the  first  two, 
the  second,  "  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  graven  image," 
may  be  less  conspicuous,  or  may  be  passed  over  altogether,  the 
attention  being  confined  to  the  first  words  of  the  first  command- 
ment. But  this,  though  done  designedly  in  the  catholic  church, 
was  wholly  without  design  in  the  Lutheran. 

Both  agree  in  doctrine  respecting  the  church,  but  are  at  vari- 
ance on  the  principle  of  church  government.  Both  admit  of  ex- 
communication, but  Calvin  assigns  the  power  of  pronouncing  it 
to  the  consistory  alone  (composed  of  laymen  as  well  as  ministers), 
and  not  to  individuals  among  the  clergy,  or  to  the  clergy  alone. 

Melancthon  anxiously  sought  to  give  a  milder  character  to 
Luther's  doctrine.  But  he  could  not  satisfy  Calvin,  whilst  he 
allowed  a  certain  co-operating  power  to  the  will.  Calvin,  who 
went  further  in  the  deductions  of  the  understanding,  could  not 
comprehend  why  Melancthon  would  not  follow  him.      But  the 


208  CALVIN    AND    ZWINGLI.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

latter  very  properly  considered  that  it  was  far  more  conducive  to 
salvation  not  to  insist  too  strongly  upon  the  opposing  dogmas. 

Of  Zwingli.  Calvin  appears  to  have  thought  little  as  a  theolo- 
gian. He  would  not  have  cared,  it  is  probable,  to  engage  in 
controversy  with  him,  but  he  esteemed  him  highly  as  a  man  of 
great  worth  ;  alleging  with  regard  to  his  character  as  an  author, 
that  he  had  read  but  little  of  his  writings.  This  statement 
would,  probably,  in  his  old  age  have  been  much  less  general. 
Calvin  differed  more  from  Zwingli  than  from  the  other  reform- 
ers. Simple  and  pious  as  were  Zwingli's  views  in  all  practical 
points,  his  doctrine  respecting  the  divine  nature  had  a  metaphy- 
sical subtlety,  which  sometimes  bordered  on  pantheistic  notions. 
This  is  strongly  opposed  to  the  devotional  character  of  Calvin's 
feelings.* 

But,  notwithstanding  this,  Zwingli  developed  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  according  to  Scripture.  In  his  views  of  human 
nature,  on  the  contraiy,  he  differed  greatly  from  the  profound 
principles  of  Calvin  and  Luther ;  for  while  he  recognized  the  cor- 
ruption of  mankind,  he  did  not  trace  it  to  the  original  sin  of 
Adam.  He  protested  however  against  the  free-will  of  Pelagius. 
Sin,  he  acknowledges,  is  the  source  of  death  both  to  body  and 
soul ;  but  the  connection  of  the  universal  ruin  with  the  first 
offence  he  traces  simply  to  their  physical  relation  (yitium  ac 
morbus). 

Christ  is  God  and  man.  The  death  of  Christ  is  our  sin-offer- 
ing :  by  this  the  curse  of  the  law  is  taken  away,  and  wc  are  made 
children  of  God.  .  .  .  The  law  is  God's  holy  will ;  we  are  not 
freed  therefrom,  but  obey  it  out  of  love  ;  Christ, — love,— is  the 
end  of  the  law.  Righteousness  and  mercy  are  intimately  united 
in  God,  and  are  the  foundation  of  our  pardon.  This  is  strictly 
orthodox.  He  also  contends  against  the  opposite  opinion,  that 
original  sin  is  punishable.t 

His  views  on  the  universality  of  the  reconciliation  effected  by 
Christ  are  doubtful.  He  limits  it,  in  many  respects,  by  the  doc- 
trine of  election.  Hut  he  agrees  with  Luther  and  Calvin  in  this, 
that  the  free  divine  election  does  not  follow  belief,  but  that  belief 
follows  election. 

As  decided,  as  much  a  supralapsarian    as    Calvin,  he  asserts 

*  As  (lie  infinite  has  this  name,  because  its  essentia  ct  existentia  is  infinite,  nothing 
can  Ik-  conceived  :i^  existing  beyond  it. 

f    VergL  Evangel.  Kirchenzeitung,  1828,  N.  47,  p.  381. 


A.D.  1540.]  THE   'institutes.'  209 

that  God  so  formed  man  that  he  could  not  but  fall.  He  repre- 
sents the  divine  prescience  as  absolute,  as  Calvin  did  afterwards  ; 
but  even  in  stronger  terms,  when  lie  says  :  They  sinned  against 
the  law,  not  as  the  authors  of  sin,  but  as  instrumenst,  which 
God  is  free  to  use  according  to  his  will,  even  as  a  householder 
may  drink  the  water  or  pour  it  out.  And  if  he  employs  the 
instrument  for  a  purpose  which  works  it  harm,  it  disturbs  not 
Him,  for  He  acts  with  perfect  freedom.  .  .  .  He  therefore  moves 
the  murderer  to  commit  murder,  &c.  God  freely  elects  from 
among  lost  mankind  those  whom  He  will ;  He  endows  them  with 
faith  through  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Word,  and  even  without  the  Word  (this  is  peculiar 
to  him,  and  contrary  to  Calvin),  as  in  the  case  of  the  heathen.* 
The  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  confined  to  the  preaching 
of  the  Word. 

It  is  a  sign  of  election  when  children  of  Christian  parents  die 
before  baptism,  or  before  they  have  sinned.  This  nearly  corre- 
sponds to  the  Calvinistic  doctrine. 

He  who  rejects  God  gives  proof  of  his  reprobation  in  his  wicked 
life.  But  man  must  not  set  himself  up  as  a  judge.  There  is 
only  one  sin  which  will  not  be  forgiven, — wilful,  obstinate  unbe- 
lief. At  the  last  day,  the  devil  and  some  portion  of  mankind  will 
be  condemned  to  eternal  fire,  for  the  glory  of  eternal  righteous- 
ness. This  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  doctrine  of  Calvin. 
The  main  difference  between  them  is  found  in  their  views  of  the 
sacraments. 


The  first  thing  which  strikes  us  in  reading  the  'Institutes,' is 
the  exceeding  clearness  and  popularity  of  the  style.  This  en- 
deavor to  combine  simplicity  with  scientific  exactness,  whilst 
the  main  end,  the  good  of  souls,  is  never  lost  sight  of,  places  the 
work  in  singular  contrast  with  those  written  on  a  similar  plan  in 
later  times.  It  is  equally  useful  for  the  learned  and  the  un^ 
learned  Christian.  This  excellence  is  closely  connected  with  an- 
other. The  author  was  confined  to  no  particular  philosophical 
system.  It  was  not  possible,  according  to  the  then  state  of  sci- 
ence, that  he  should  preserve  himself  entirely  free  from  scholas- 
ticism, and  depend  solely  upon  Scripture;  but  he  never  shows 
himself  anxious  to  subject  faith  to  reason  ;  he  is  never  tempted 

*  Thus   he   placed   some   of  the  wise   heathen   in   Paradise,  which  gave   great 
offence. 

VOL.  I. 14 


210  calvin's  faith  in  god.  [chap,  xiv, 

• 
to  speculate  upon  evangelical  truths  from  the  high  ground  of 
philosophy,  or  to  reduce  belief  to  the  measure  of  preconceived 
opinions.  Taking  his  stand  on  the  Gospel,  Calvin  could  only 
speak  according  to  his  religious  experience  and  the  teaching  of 
Scripture.  He  contended,  on  the  one  side,  against  pantheistic 
notions,  generally  in  this  case  having  Servetus  in  view  ;  and,  on 
the  other,  against  materialism,  against  catholic  superstition, 
worldly  infidelity,  and  the  particular  views  which  differed  from 
the  rule  of  sound  doctrine. 

It  will  ever  remain  to  Calvin's  great  honor,  that,  speculative 
as  he  was  by  nature,  he  uniformly  subjected  his  powerful  under- 
standing to  the  Word  of  God,  and  consecrated  his  logical  acute- 
ness  to  the  service  of  truth.  His  work  indeed  is  thus  fundament- 
ally, thus  essentially  useful  for  the  church  in  all  ages,  because  the 
sound  belief  of  the  author,  or  his  feeling  of  the  oneness  and  great- 
ness of  the  living  God,  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all  he  says — of 
the  God  revealed  in  a  threefold  manner. — the  eternal  Being,  dis- 
tinct from  nature  and  matter,  incomprehensible,  creation  existing 
external  to  himself. 

Hence  Calvin  opposed  himself  sternly  to  the  speculative  no- 
tions of  his  time.  The  personal  God  was  all  to  him  ;  he  referred 
everything  to  this.  Man  was  nothing;  whatever  of  good  he  pos- 
sesses, it  comes  from  grace.  Deep  therefore  ought  to  be  the 
humiliation  of  human  nature  and  spiritual  pride.  On  this  ac- 
count he  considered  the  doctrine  of  predestination  in  its  crudest 
form  as  of  great  practical  utility,  giving  as  it  does  all  honor 
to  God  and  none  to  man.  This  was  a  characteristic  excellence, 
strongly  opposed  to  the  general  temper  of  the  times.  The  evan- 
gelical church,  again  flourishing,  victorious  in  its  complicated 
warfare,  was  still  weak  in  respect  to  its  view  of  the  fust  article 
of  the  Creed, — in  the  belief,  that  is,  of  the  living  God  ;  and  the 
revivers  of  the  church,  and  all  pious  men,  if  they  have  found  the 
Lord  in  faith,  may  derive  endless  instruction  on  this  subject 
from  Calvin,  in  whom  this  vital  belief  in  the  true  God  prevailed 
over  every  species  of  doubt  and  contradiction.  It  was  not  the 
•  compulsory  belief  in  one  person  of  the  Godhead  ;  not  the  vio- 
lent passage  of  the  soul  through  one  door,  to  a  one-sided  belief, 
adopted  as  the  only  thing  necessary  ;  not  God,  as  revealed  in  the 
New  Testament  only,  and  whom  some  mystics  represent  as  com- 
prehended merely  by  the  mind  or  the  feelings  ;  not  the  God 
who,  united  with  nature,  reveals  himself  by  degrees  to  our  con- 
sciences ;  but  the  eternal  God,  whom    Moses  and    the  prophets 


a.d.  1540.]  calvin's  faith   in  god.  211 

knew ;  this  was  the  God  whom  Calvin  proclaimed  with  over- 
powering energy  ;  this  was  the  God  upon  whom  his  religion  was 
established. 

Nor  did  Calvin  fall  into  the  error  of  the  ancient  church,  which, 
during  its  struggles  with  heresy,  so  lamentably  disfigured  the 
belief  in  a  triune  God,  that,  in  the  end,  a  lifeless  formulary  took 
its  place,  as  that  falsely  attributed  to  Athanasius,  and  in  which 
the  understanding  dissects  and  anatomizes  the  being  of  God,  so 
as  at  last  to  leave  nothing  but  the  empty  form.  Calvin  refused 
to  subscribe  this ;  he,  to  whom  belief  in  God  was  life,  to  whom 
belief  in  Christ  was  life,  to  whom  belief  in  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
life.  Hence  it  arises  that,  though  his  faith  in  the  triune  God 
forms  the  very  foundation  of  his  work,  he  has  shown  no  anxietv 
to  give  it  a  particular  place  in  the  arrangement  of  his  topics,  but 
has  allowed  his  ideas  to  take  their  free  and  uninterrupted  course. 
To  this  may  be  attributed,  on  the  one  side,  the  moderation  with 
which  he  treats  of  mysteries,  whilst  he  always,  and  in  all  respects, 
acknowledges  the  incomprehensible  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
practical  tendency,  the  good  pious  meaning,  apparent  in  his 
sentiments,  and  which  will  always  constitute  the  real  blessing  of 
the  sincere  Christian. 

Never,  perhaps,  since  the  time  of  Augustine,  has  the  belief  in 
the  true  God  been  so  powerfully  and  so  simply  set  forth.  In  the 
scholastic  ages,  the  holiest  and  the  most  learned  men  were  held 
fast  bound  in  the  fetters  of  human  reason.  Augustine  was  hap- 
pily, like  Calvin,  a  devoted  worshipper  of  the  living  God,  and  this 
supported  him  through  life.  His  spirit  and  existence  were 
grounded  upon  this  his  love  to  God,  whose  presence  he  sighed 
for,  panted  after,  as  for  the  breath  of  life.  God,  as  he  tells  us,  in 
his  Confessions,  was  his  light,  his  joy,  and  his  beauty. 

Calvin  would  not  have  written  a  statement  of  this  kind  ;  he 
was  not  susceptible  of  such  a  feeling  of  tenderness  towards  God. 
Augustine,  perhaps,  ought  to  be  ranked  much  higher  as  a  spir- 
itual writer;  he  exercised,  as  such,  a  very  marked  and  exten- 
sive influence.  But  as  an  acute  and  logical  reasoner,  armed 
with  a  no  less  mighty  faith,  and  as  an  enlightened  champion 
against  error  and  superstition,  Calvin  is  perhaps  the  greater. 
Augustine  acquired  by  his  long  and  painful  struggles  in  the 
course  of  his  conversion,  milder  dispositions,  and  readier  sym- 
pathies with  human  weakness,  than  Calvin.  The  conversion  of 
the  latter  was  earlier  and  more  rapidly  accomplished,  and  he  be- 
came great    rather  by  a  holy  energy  and    intense  feeling  of  duty, 


212  CALVIN    AND    AUGUSTINE.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

Augustine  was  originally  sensual,  but  subsequently  became  in- 
spired with  the  sublimest  sentiment  of  Christian  love.  Calvin 
is  simpler  and  more  energetic  than  Augustine,  and  keeps  his 
object  more  constantly  in  view,  even  in  his  style.  He  had  less 
time  to  think  of  the  graces  of  speech. 

Augustine  and  Calvin,  two  luminous  points  in  the  develop- 
ment of  theology,  stand  among  all  theologians  the  nearest  to  each 
other  in  one  respect,  and  the  most  remote  from  each  other  when 
viewed  on  a  different  side.  The  former  is  the  case  through  their 
sublime,  deeply-felt  belief  in  God,  through  their  experience  of 
the  unity  in  God,  and  of  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ.  This 
was  their  main  doctrine :  it  was  mixed  up  with  their  inner  life, 
with  their  doctrine  of  predestination,  election,  salvation  by  grace, 
original  sin,  the  crucifying  of  spiritual  pride  in  man.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  were  most  distant  from  each  other  in  their 
views  of  the  church.  Augustine*  regarded  the  visible  church  as 
the  true  church,  armed  with  divine  power ;  and  this  led  to  the 
introduction  of  that  fundamental  error  of  the  Roman  catholic 
church,  against  which  Calvin  rose  as  a  scourge  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  mighty  through  his  fearless  rejection  of  all  human 
authority,  as  well  as  by  his  pure  understanding  of  Scripture. 

Nor  could  it  be  otherwise;  for  Augustine,  who  formed  an 
epoch  in  the  development  of  the  internal  history  of  the  church, 
comprehended  in  himself  the  germs  of  both  Catholicism  and  prot- 
estantism, or  of  that  conflict  against  errors  which  were  neces- 
sarily evolved  from  principles  originally  false.  He  personified  the 
opposition  between  error  and  truth. 

But  nothing  is  more  surprising  than  the  peculiarities  in  Au- 
gustine's and  Calvin's  views  on  the  subject  of  election.  Like 
Dante's,  Calvin's  sublime  spirit  delighted  in  fixing  its  steady 
gaze  on  the  eternal  justice  of  God,  and  plunged  without  fear 
into  the  abyss  of  the  righteousness  of  the  Judge,  knowing  that 
the  Redeemer  liveth.  Through  that  daring  and  inflexible  sever- 
ity, with  which  he  seems  to  take  everything  from  man,  he  has 
mainly  excited  against  himself  the  hostility  of  those  who  are 
unable  to  comprehend  the  workings  of  his  mighty  spirit.  He 
wears  the  livery  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  understands  the  holi- 
ness, righteousness,  and  omnipotence  more  clearly  than  the  love 
of  God.  It  will  therefore  appear,  when  we  take  a  nearer  view 
of  the  subject,  why  Calvin  was  so  indignant  when  any  our  spoke 
contemptuously  of  his  great  doctrine  ;  and  when  men  of  sound, 
ordinary  understanding,   objected  to   him   the  reality    of  natural 


A.D.  1540.]         calvin's  doctrine  of  election.  213 

freedom,  oi-  the  testimony  of  Scripture,  asserting  that  he  made 
God  a  sinner.  But  he  had  both  facts  and  Scripture  on  his  side. 
Among  the  former  may  surely  be  reckoned  the  rejection  of  the 
heathen,  and  that  of  the  Jews  to  the  present  day,  and  the  election 
of  Christians.  From  whatever  side  we  regard  the  unconversion 
of  the  heathen,  and  the  evils  which  their  condition  brings  with 
it,  their  state,  and  our  own  undeserved  calling,  with  its  attendant 
blessings,  must  ever  remain  an  inexplicable  mystery, — one  in 
which  the  love  of  God  cannot,  it  would  seem,  be  reconciled  with 
his  righteousness.  The  experience  of  our  own  hearts  affords 
another  fact  to  the  same  purpose.  Every  one  knows  that  he# 
can  only  become  free  from  sin  through  divine  grace,  and  that 
conscience,  whether  we  understand  it  or  not,  accuses  us  of  sin 
without  enli2rhlenin£  us  as  to  the  origin  of  the  wickedness,  which 
we  are  unable  to  escape  by  our  own  strength.  All  this  was  a 
secret  to  Calvin  as  well  as  to  every  other  man,  only  that  he  ex- 
pressed his  thoughts  with  greater  freedom  and  boldness.  Hence 
it  was  that  he  could  not  understand  the  objection  to  his  doctrine, 
that  it  destroyed  the  freedom  of  the  will.  This  is  really  not  the 
case  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  vindicates  the  most  perfect  freedom  of 
will,  and  therefore  it  is  that  the  most  zealous  Christians  have 
found,  and  do  still  find,  in  this  doctrine,  peace  and  tranquillity. 
In  the  first  place,  it  involves  a  very  lively  remembrance  of  the 
original  freedom  which  was  lost.  In  the  second,  freedom  to  do 
evil  remained  to  every  one  after  the  fall,  even  to  the  most  pros- 
trate heathen.  But  power  to  do  good,  while  we  still  feel  it  ex- 
isting in  us  as  bound  and  captive,  is  loosed  by  the  might  of 
heavenly  grace.  Calvin  therefore,  applying  his  doctrine  to  prac- 
tical purposes,  insists  more  strongly  than  any  other  theologian 
on  the  necessity  of  obedience,  morality,  sacrifices,  and  resigna- 
tion. What  meaning  would  there  otherwise  have  been  in  his 
whole  life,  had  he  not  adopted  this  view  of  free-will,  delivered 
from  bondage  through  grace  ?  Grace  indeed  must  first  operate 
on  those  fast  bound  in  the  sleep  of  sin  ;  it  must  inspire  them  with 
the  desire  to  call  upon  God  for  help  ;  at  least  with  a  longing 
after  God.  But  as  soon  as  this  happens,  as  it  often  does  while 
we  are  unconscious  of  the  change,  the  work  of  redemption  is  car- 
ried forward,  and  the  man,  supported  by  his  own  prayers,  or 
(hose  of  others,  loosens  his  will  more  and  more,  till  he  becomes 
free,  as  God  is  free,  that  is,  freely  obedient  to  the  law.  We 
have  a  high  feeling  of  our  freedom,  and,  as  we  ought,  rest  confi- 
dently in  it.     This   doctrine    therefore   seems   to   many   foolish. 


214  FREE-WILL.  [CHAP.  XIV. 

But  whence  the  feeling  of  freedom  ?  First,  we  feel  free  to  do 
evil,  freedom  in  this  respect  having  never  been  taken  horn  us. 
Secondly,  because  being  born  under  the  common  influence  of 
Christendom,  we  have  grown  up,  enjoying  from  our  childhood 
an  unfettered  will,  a  will  made  free  by  grace;  for  grace  ad? 
upon  us  from  the  first  day  of  our  life,  bears  us  forward  and  works 
in  us,  without  our  knowing  it.  Hence  the  lust  and  freedom  of 
the  wicked  ;  hence  the  freedom  of  the  good.  The  latter  among 
the  heathen  is  far  weaker  than  among  Christians. 

But  in  what  does  the  fault  of  this  system  consist?  In  its  in- 
completeness. Calvin,  and  before  him  his  great  master  Augus- 
tine, employed  all  their  talent,  zealous  as  they  were  for  the  good 
of  the  church,  to  root  up  the  wretched  notions  of  the  Pelagians, 
and  to  prove  the  original,  lost  freedom  and  captive  state  of  man ; 
whereas  they  ought  to  have  devoted  their  admirable  abilities  to 
show,  that  although  God  leads  him  by  grace,  as  the  mother  does 
her  child  by  the  hand,  and  although  election  and  conversion 
are  the  fruits  of  grace,  man  is  yet  free,  and  with  recovered  free- 
dom becomes  morally  answerable  to  his  conscience  and  to  God. 

Before  the  fall  man  had  free-will  (liberum  arbitrium) :  after 
the  fall,  he  had  freedom  in  respect  to  sin.  The  nodus  of  the 
whole  question  is  this  :  man  is  free,  feels  that  he  is,  but  cannot 
grasp  his  freedom.  Freedom  supposes  a  capability  of  choice  ; 
the  power  of  taking  the  good  or  evil  part,  and  arbitrarily  deter- 
mining our  course.  But  this  freedom  is  not  consistent  with  the 
nature  of  a  moral  being ;  evil  is  altogether  opposite  to  such  a 
nature.  The  freedom  therefore  to  choose  evil  always  pre-sup- 
poses  a  kind  of  corruption  already  existing  in  the  being.  The 
true  freedom  of  a  moral  being  consists  in  this,  that  he  is  free  to 
conform  himself  to  the  law  of  holiness.  Freedom,  under  this 
form,  is  in  both  relations  a  contradiction,  and  yet  are  both  equally 
necessary. 

Nothing  therefore  remains  but  to  acknowledge,  in  opposition 
to  the  mere  natural  understanding,  the  existence  of  free-will, 
though  to  us  incomprehensible.  If  Calvin  had  been  more  care- 
ful in  this  respect,  he  would  have  guarded  his  >\  stem  especially 
against  every  appearance  of  fatalism,  and  have  exhibited  clearly 
and  distinctly  the  opposite  system,  with  the  nature  of  which  he 
was  so  well  acquainted.  The  doctrine  would  then  have  beeu 
less  dangerous  to  the  people,  and  he  would  not  have  felt  it.  so 
necessary  to  warn  the  weak  against  employing  their  thoughts 
upon  the  subject.     Both  sides  of  the  truth  are  firmly  supported 


A.D.  1540.]      IMPERFECTIONS    OF    CALVIN'S    SYSTEM.  215 

in  his  system,  the  one  and  the  other  as  antagonist  principles. 
This  is  but  ill  understood,  till  a  closer  observation  shows  the  mid- 
dle point ;  with  Calvin  it  was  the  religious  feeling,  which  asserts, 
in  the  first  place,  the  divine  election,  honor  and  power  belong- 
ing to  God  alone ;  and  in  the  next,  the  moral  law,  duty,  the 
will  of  God,  and  the  free  aspirations  of  man  after  holiness. 

Calvin  however  did  not  sufficiently  consider  that  the  under- 
standing is  incapable  of  reconciling  these  adverse  propositions. 
By  giving  too  prominent  a  place  to  his  particular  dogma,  he  has 
in  this  instance  lessened  the  evangelical  character  of  his  system. 
The  Gospel  is  itself  adapted  to  the  poor  and  simple,  but  instead 
of  supporting  this  doctrine  on  the  foundation  of  faith,  he  has 
weighed  it  down  with  thought  and  argument,  contrary  to  the 
example  of  Christ  himself  (Luke  xiii.  23,  24).  Thus  he  over- 
throws what  he  constructed  with  so  much  labor,  and  introduces 
apparently  a  species  of  mechanical  compulsion  and  necessity,  the 
idea  of  which  fills  the  soul  with  anxiety  and  deprives  it  of  the 
power  of  action.  We  have  said  apparently,  for  in  many  parts  of 
his  work  he  contends  against  the  error  which  his  reasoning  seem 
ingly  justifies,  with  great  force  and  clearness. 

But  in  the  eyes  of  weak  men,  who  cannot  survey  all  the  parts 
of  his  system  with  his  own  eagle-like  glance,  who  cannot  rise 
above  speculation,  who  do  not  bring  the  same  faith  as  he  brought 
to  the  inquiry, — in  the  eyes  of  such  men,  God,  love,  righteous- 
ness, and  the  moral  nature  of  man  all  disappear,  because  we  are 
not  all  Calvins.  I  am  assuredly  not  intending  here  to  oppose 
the  doctrine  of  election,  which  is  in  so  manifold  a  way  declared 
in  holy  Scripture.  My  censure  applies  only  to  the  free,  the  too 
self-satisfied  manner  in  which  Calvin,  contrary  to  his  usual  mod- 
eration, sets  forth  this  mystery, — -a  mystery  which,  like  some 
others,  lies  beyond  the  circle  of  human  inquiry,  and  from  ap- 
proaching too  near  to  which  man  should  shrink,  as  standing  on 
the  edge  of  a  fathomless  abyss.  Still,  Calvin  only  half  unveils 
the  mystery  ;  but  when  we  have  gone  a  step  further,  we  become 
perfectly  satisfied  with  the  stern  and  difficult  view.  Man  how- 
ever, as  Bengel  has  somewhere  said,  must  not  look  at  God  be- 
hind the  scenes.  Thought  may  lead  men  to  the  brink  of  blas- 
phemy, when  they  venture  to  follow  its  glimmerings  too  far ; 
and  the  Christian  does  well,  in  respect  to  this  article  of  his  be- 
lief, where  arguments  for  and  against  can  be  brought,  to  keep 
silence  and  confess  his  ignorance. 

But  if,  through  the  too  violent  and  unmodified  representation 


216  calvin's  faith.  [chap.  xiv. 

of  election,  Calvin's  noble  work  is  marked  with  human  imper- 
fection, yet  was  his  faith,  as  a  principle,  not  to  be  surpassed  ;  it 
was  a  faith  so  strong  and  energetic  that  it  impelled  him  to  fanat- 
icism in  his  treatment  of  opponents.  It  would  be  good  for  us, 
in  times  like  these,  to  inhale  the  breath  of  such  a  vigorous  faith, 
lie  boldly  waged  war  with  the  low  principles  of  the  church,  and, 
were  it  only  on  that  account,  deserves  consideration.  In  the 
present  day  men  have  set  God  aside  by  their  speculations,  and, 
placed  man  in  his  stead,  as  absolutely  necessary  to  the  eternal 
universe,  and  not  as  created  by  grace.  All  means  have  been 
tried  to  construct  systems  of  belief;  at  one  time  they  have  been 
derived  from  religious  feeling,  at  another  from  some  favorite 
idea,  and  at  other  times  from  a  sensation  of  dependence  on  an 
unknown,  infinite  something,  which  is  called  God. 

When  a  man  sets  out  on  his  inquiry  with  a  devout  sense  of 
the  personal  God,  who  reveals  himself  to  the  spirit ;  when  he 
starts  with  a  well-grounded  principle,  and  takes  the  Bible  for  his 
guide,  the  fallen  creature,  with  the  law  of  God  in  his  heart,  feels 
the  necessity  of  a  Redeemer;  hence  there  is  something  definite 
and  distinct  in  his  inquiries,  and  seeking  salvation  he  feels  him- 
self on  the  path  of  truth.  But  when  the  pious  sentiment  is  a 
mere  dependence  on  some  unknown  being,  or  an  expression  of 
the  desire,  or  of  the  need,  which  man  feels  of  reconciliation  with 
the  unknown  God  ;  or  when  philosophy  constructs  and  fashions 
the  being  of  God,  places  together  the  eternal  substance  and  the 
spirit,  and  the  necessary  incarnation  of  God  is  received  as  a 
principle  of  religion  ;  and  when  repeated  efforts  are  made  to  form 
a  perfect  elementary  treatise,  a  popular  catechism, — all  this  proves 
too  well  that  no  dogmatic  writer  has  as  yet  found  the  right  spirit 
in  which  such  a  blessed  and  comforting  system  of  doctrine  ought 
to  be  exhibited. 

This  evidently  proves  that  evangelical  truth  has  not  yet  be- 
come thoroughly  established  among  us,  that  a  partial  effort  only 
is  made  to  reach  it,  while  that,  as  one  after  another  seizes  this  or 
that  portion  of  the  whole,  he  exclaims  in  a  tone  of  triumph  that 
he  has  found  the  truth  itself.  Thus  one  has  the  Son  and  the 
Father,  another  the  three  divine  persons,  a  third  acknowledges 
Christ  and  the  principle  of  evil,  a  fourth  Christ  alone  ;  none 
confess  the  holy  Trinity,  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  truth, 
that  is,  God  himself;  and  we  cannot  but  feel  how  high  the  powei 
of  faith  raised  Calvin  above  all  this. 

From  the  standing-place  afforded  by  Calvin  and  Christianity, 


a.d.  1540.]  calvin's  faith.  217 

must  the  tendency  of  the  present  age  be  condemned  as  atheis- 
tic, and  convicted  of  the  sin  of  setting  the  human  spirit  in  the 
place  of  God.  The  understanding,  or  the  spirit  of  man,  occu- 
pies the  loftiest  rank  ;  it  brings  forth  God  in  its  course,  and  in 
the  acknowledgment  that  all  religion  is  necessarily  grounded  on 
the  incarnation  of  God  lies  concealed  the  pride  of  man,  it  being 
hence  supposed  that  God  must  become  man  in  order  to  perfect 
his  being. 

But  although  we  are  now  mainly  concerned  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity,  as  the  root  of  Christianity,  and  with  the  fact  that 
Christianity  is  neither  polytheistic  nor  monotheistic,  but  that  as 
absolute  religion  it  combines  in  itself  the  subject  and  the  sub- 
stance ;  yet  it  is  very  evident,  as  we  look  with  astonishment  at 
the  boldness  with  which  man  obscures,  by  his  own  gross  notions, 
the  radiance  of  the  true  ideal,  that  he  has  only  to  do  with  a  very 
high  species  of  unbelief,  which,  however,  destroys  the  life  through 
the  form.  But  if,  lastly,  on  the  other  side,  a  rash  anti-christianity 
and  the  spiritless  half-faith  of  the  cold  understanding  are  added 
hereto,  and  the  still  greater  number  of  those  who,  in  Christian 
countries,  live  and  die  as  heathens  ;  among  whom  the  better  class 
at  least  exhibit  a  higher  poetical  and  more  imaginative  feeling,  but 
know  nothing  of  regeneration  ;  if  this  be  the  case,  every  Christian 
must  be  charmed  with  Calvin's  zeal  for  the  honor  of  the  Lord 
and  his  house.  His  spirit  must  glow  with  indignation,  that,  in 
the  time  when  so  mighty  a  struggle  is  at  hand, — that  when  the 
fulness  of  the  heathen  is  ready  to  come  in,  such  a  heavy  slumber 
should  be  upon  us ;  and  he  will  pray  to  the  Lord  that  he  may 
re-establish  the  old  doctrine  in  our  hearts,  and  bestow  another 
teacher  on  the  world,  who,  although  exhibiting  imperfections 
like  the  reformers  generally,  yet,  knowing  in  whom  he  believes, 
may  oppose  himself  boldly  to  the  wickedness  which  constitutes 
the  main  character  of  our  times, — a  teacher,  who,  not  with  his 
own  strength,  or  in  his  own  darkness,  but  as  the  shepherd  of 
Bethlehem,  may  strive,  in  the  name  of  the  living  God,  against  the 
mail-covered  infidelity  of  the  age,  which  raises  its  gigantic  head 
shining  with  borrowed  light;  one  who  seeking  his  pebble  in  the 
brook  of  life,  may  hurl  it  against  this  cold,  disdainful  boaster,  and 
pierce  him  to  the  brain,  because  he  has  despised  the  testimony  of 
the  living  God.  And  now  it  becomes  us  to  speak  with  the  freedom 
and  confidence  of  Luther,  "  They  must  and  shall  let  the  Word 
stand,  and  no  thanks  to  them  for  it." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PUBLICATION   OF    CALVIN'S    COMMENTARY  ON    THE    EPISTLE    TO 
THE    ROMANS. — EXEGETICAL    TALENT    OF    CALVIN. 

EPISTLE    TO    THE    ROMANS,    1539. 

As  Calvin's  '  Commentaries' are  now  in  the  hands  of  every  one, 
a  very  brief  notice  on  the  subject  will  serve  our  present  purpose. 
Tholuck's  remarks  on  his  exegetical  talent  may  be  referred  to  as 
valuable  in  this  respect.* 

In  the  preface  to  the  Commentary  on  the  Romans,  Calvin 
gives  us  his  own  ideas  on  the  duty  of  a  commentator,  or  assists 
us  at  least  to  understand  his  views.  He  dedicated  the  work, 
after  having  publicly  expounded  the  Epistle  at  Strasburg,  to  his 
friend  and  instructor  Grynoeus,  then  at  Basel.  It  was  from  a 
feeling  of  gratitude  that  he  did  this,  as  he  expresses  himself 
in  the  following  extract : — "  I  remember  that  when  we  had  a 
friendly  conversation  together,  three  years  ago,  on  the  bc~t  man- 
ner of  interpreting  Scripture,  that  which  you  preferred  seemed 
also  the  most  useful  to  me.  We  both  considered  that  the  most 
excellent  quality  in  an  expositor  is  clearness  combined  with  brev- 
ity, it  being  his  particular  duty  to  exhibit  the  spirit  of  the 
wriler;  whence  he  errs  from  his  proper  line  in  proportion  as  he 
turns  the  attention  of  the  reader  from  the  writer  on  which  he  is 
employed.  We  therefore  wished  that  some  one  might  arise 
among  those  who  devote  themselves  to  this  branch  of  theology, 
who  would  undertake  to  facilitate  the  study  of  Scripture,  with- 
out carrying  the  student  through  too  great  a  mass  of  commen- 
taries. How  far  I  have  succeeded  in  this  attempt,  •!  leave  you 
and  my  readers  to  judge.  Many  writers,  both  in  ancient  and 
modern  times,  have  been  engaged  on  this  Epistle.     Their  labors 

*  Sencbier  and  Zicgcubein  refer  bja  fust  work  tp  the  year  1540,  but  the  pref- 
ace lias  1639.  Oporinus,  in  a  letter  from  Basel,  168*7  (MSS,  Goth.),  after 
expressing  the  «ran1  of  a  new  edition  of  bis  Catechism,  Bays,  "I  hear  that  you 
are  lecturing  with  L,rreat  praise  and  utility  on  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  I  do 
pray  you  not  to  consider  it  too  burdensome  to  let  as  also  enjoy  tie'  advantage  of 
what  yon  say  in  those  lectures."  Calvin  therefore  had  already  at  Geneva,  as 
profesaor,  lectured  on  the    Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  and  was  repeating  his  lectures  at 

St:  a-  burg. 


A.D.  1539.]  THE    REFORMERS    AS    COMMENTATORS.  219 

have  been  well  employed  ;  for  he  who  understands  this  portion 
of  Scripture,  has  opened  to  himself  a  door  by  which  he  may  pro- 
ceed to  the  comprehension  of  the  whole  of  the  divine  Word. 
Among  the  later  expositors,  Melancthon  is  distinguished  foi 
learning,  ingenuity  and  skill, — qualities  which  he  has  exhibited  in 
all  the  various  departments  of  literature.  Hence  he  has  thrown 
much  more  light  on  Scripture  than  those  who  preceded  him. 
His  object  however  appears  to  have  been  to  examine  only  the 
more  remarkable  difficulties  of  Scripture.  He  therefore  de- 
signedly passes  over  many  things  which  may  perplex  an  ordi- 
nary mind.  Bullinger  followed,  and  earned  much  praise,  uniting 
as  he  did,  with  learning,  great  readiness  and  ability.  At  length 
Bucer  has  given  us  the  results  of  his  studies,  and  set  the  crown 
to  all.  Bucer,  as  is  well  known  to  you,  is  surpassed  by  none  of 
his  contemporaries  in  depth  or  variety  of  learning,  in  clearness  of 
intellect,  in  extent  of  reading,  or  other  excellencies;  but  he  de- 
serves the  still  more  eminent  praise,  that  he  has  devoted  himself 
with  greater  diligence  than  any  one  of  our  times  to  the  exposi- 
tion of  Scripture.  To  measure  myself  with  these  men  would  be 
a  rivalry  that  has  never  entered  my  thoughts;  let  them  continue 
to  enjoy  the  honor  and  respect  accorded  them  by  the  judgment 
of  all  good  men.  But  still  it  will  be  granted  me,  I  trust,  that 
no  human  work  can  ever  be  so  perfect  in  its  structure  as  to  leave 
nothing  for  the  diligence  of  those  who  come  after  to  accomplish. 
All  that  I  venture  to  say  for  myself  is,  that  I  do  not  regard  the 
present  work,  which  I  have  been  led  to  undertake  with  no  other 
thought  than  that  of  promoting  the  good  of  the  church,  as  alto- 
gether useless.  Philip  (Melancthon)  has  expounded  only  such 
chapters  as  he  found  necessary  to  his  object.  Bucer  is  too  lengthy 
to  be  read  by  men  who  have  many  other  things  to  engage  them, 
and  too  profound  to  be  understood  by  humble  and  not  very  atten- 
tive minds." 

Calvin  intended  his  work  to  occupy  a  middle  place  between  the 
two  writers  to  whom  he  thus  alludes.*  Some  few  characteristic 
observations  are  introduced  respecting  the  sacreJ  nature  of  expo- 
sition, and  the  liberty  exercised  by  a  commentator  disiegardful  of 
tradition. 

Calvin's  opinion  of  some  other  expositors  is  found  in  a  letter, 

*  How  greatly  he  loved  brevity  and  clearness,  lie  states  in  his  preface  to 
the  minor  prophets.  "If  God  has  given  me  any  ability  to  expound  Scripture,  1 
know  well  with  what  fidelity  and  diligence  I  endeavor  to  avoid  all  mere  subtle- 
ties," (fee. 


220  THE    REFORMERS    AS    COMMENTATORS.       [CHAP.  XV. 

in  his  own  hand-writing,  dated  May  19,  1510.*  To  Viret's  in- 
quiry, he  answers :  "  Capito  lectures  on  Isaiah,  and  might  be 
useful  to  you  in  illustrating  the  prophets;  but  he  dictates  nothing 
to  his  hearers.  Zwingli  is  not  wanting  in  skill ;  but  he  takes  toe 
much  freedom,  and  thus  often  wanders  from  the  real  meaning  of 
the  prophets.  Luther  is  not  very  careful  to  examine  the  exact 
sense  of  words,  or  the  circumstances  of  the  history  (that  is.  he  is 
not  a  grammatical-historical  commentator),  but  is  satisfied  if  he 
can  derive  from  the  text  some  useful  lesson.  No  one  as  yet  has 
employed  himself  carefully  about  this  work,  with  the  exception  of 
CEcolampadius,  who  is  himself  not  always  on  the  right  path.  Al- 
though you  are  without  the  necessary  helps  to  such  a  labor,  yet  I 
trust  the  Lord  will  not  forsake  you." 

The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  has  been  an  especial  object  of  at- 
tention among  protestant  commentators.  It  embraces  the  pecu- 
liar and  fundamental  principles  of  Christian  doctrine,  and  stands 
directly  opposed  to  the  Catholic  and  Pelagian  errors  which  so 
long  prevailed.  Hence  Melancthon  adopted  it  as  the  basis  of 
his  Loci  Communes,  and  Calvin  as  that  of  his  '  Institutes.'  Me- 
lancthon's  labors  extended  from  the  year  1522  to  1532.  His  ob- 
ject being  dogmatic  rather  than  exegetical,  his  annotations  are 
chiefly  confined  to  dogmatic  passages.  Calvin's  remark  conse- 
quently was  just.  The  latter  prized  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
above  all  the  rest,  because  it  so  entirely  harmonized  with  his  ar- 
gument, and  with  his  sublime  view  of  God's  grandeur,  of  his  all- 
comprehending  power,  and  the  nothingness  of  man,  who  lives  only 
by  the  grace  of  God,  and  owes  his  freedom  wholly  to  its  support. 
"  Works  cannot  make  you  righteous,  but  the  grace  of  God  through 
Jesus,  who  is  your  righteousness  and  your  life." 

The  old  expositors  among  the  reformers  very  properly  felt  and 
understood,  that  the  great  end  of  the  Apostle  was  not  to  com- 
pose a  mere  argument  against  Jewish  doctrine  and  prejudices. 
But  Calvin  saw  still  further,  that  Paul  intended  to  exhibit  the 
whole  system  of  Christian  doctrine  in  its  height  and  depth,  set- 
ting no  limit  to  his  meditations  on  the  sublime  mystery.  And 
since  no  writer,  either  among  the  fathers  or  among  (lie  reformers, 
has  taken  so  large  and  complete  a  view  of  this  Epistle,  or  treated 
it  so  thoroughly  according  to  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Gospel,  as  Calvin,  so  it  may  be  confidently  added,  that  bis  is 
the  best  commentary  that  has  appeared  up  to  the  present  day, 
when  the  evangelical  church  is  again   entering    upon   the  path 

*  Mnss.  Gen. 


A.D.  1539.]  CALVIN    AS    A    COMMENTATOR.  221 

which  he  opened.  Tholuck's  opinion  of  the  work  is  thus  express- 
ed :  "  It  combines  the  Romish  style,  the  fundamental  grammatical- 
historic  mode  of  interpretation,  with  profound  thought  and  a  living 
Christianity." 

As  the  most  useful  part  of  Luther's  labors  consisted  in  his  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures,  so  Calvin  deserves  the  highest  praise  for 
his  able  exposition  of  the  divine  Word.  With  the  exception  of 
the  books  of  Judges,  Ruth,  Samuel,  Kings,  Esther,  Nehemiah, 
Ezra,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  the  Song  of  Solomon,  and  the  Reve- 
lation of  St.  John,  he  expounded  the  whole  Bible.  The  selection 
which  he  made  plainly  shows  that  Calvin's  mind  naturally  led 
him  to  employ  himself  not  on  the  outward  or  historical  portions 
of  Scripture,  but  rather  on  those  which  contain  the  root  and  ker- 
nel of  faith.  It  was  only  in  his  old  age  that  he  began  to  expound 
the  historical  books.  The  commentary  on  Joshua  was  his  last 
labor.  Scaliger  praises  him  for  not  having  expounded  the  Apoca- 
lypse :  "  It  was  wise  of  him  not  to  write  on  this  book ;"  and  con- 
tinues, "  O  how  well  did  Calvin  comprehend  the  mind  of  the 
prophets !  No  one  ever  understood  it  better !  Calvin  wrote  best 
of  all  on  Daniel,  but  derived  the  whole  of  his  materials  from  St. 
Jerome.  O  how  admirable  a  book  is  the  Institutes !  Calvin  and 
Beza,  both  natives   of  Poictiers,  were  originally  devoted   to  the 

study  of  the  law Calvin  did  well  in  not  writing  on  the 

Apocalypse." 

And  Bayle  quotes  from  Bodin :  "In  interpreting  the  divine 
oracles,  I  have  ever  preferred  adopting  the  conclusion  which  pro- 
nounces the  meaning  of  a  difficult  passage  not  clear,  to  rashly 
coinciding  with  the  opinion  of  others  on  matters  but  ill  under- 
stood ;  and  greatly  do  I  admire  the  elegant,  no  less  than  prudent, 
discourse  of  Calvin,  who,  being  asked  his  opinion  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, ingenuously  replied,  that  he  was  altogether  unable  to  com- 
prehend the  meaning  of  the  very  obscure  writer  of  that  book,  and 
that  it  was  a  question  among  learned  men  to  whom  the  author- 
ship should  be  ascribed." 

This  is  very  characteristic  of  Calvin,  whose  clear,  acute  un- 
derstanding could  not  satisfactorily  employ  itself  on  this  book.  It 
seemed  to  require  a  prophetic  power  to  interpret  its  mysterious 
language,  and  of  this  Calvin  would  know  nothing.  His  contem- 
poraries were  well  acquainted  with  his  exegetical  talent ;  and 
his  friends,  especially  Bucer,  entreated  him  to  devote  his  abilities 
altogether  to  the  work  of  exposition,  so  useful  and  important  to 
the  church.     Bayle  says  of  him  :    "He  was  a  man  on  whom  God 


222  CALVIN    ON    ST.    PAUL'S    EPISTLES.  [ciIAP.  XV 

had  conferred  great  talents,  a  powerful  mind,  an  exquisite  judg- 
ment, a  retentive  memory,  a  solid  and  eloquent  style,  unwearied 
application,  vast  knowledge,  and  great  zeal  for  the  truth."  All 
these  qualities  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  make  a  good  commentator. 

It  has  been  generally  remarked,  that  the  reformed  church  has 
proved  itself  much  superior  to  the  Lutheran  in  respect  to  com- 
mentators; for  this  praise  it  is  indebted  to  Calvin.  The  Lu- 
theran church  was  especially  called  upon  to  establish  its  system 
of  doctrine  by  an  appeal  to  Scripture.  Thus  Luther,  Melanc- 
thon,  Musculus,  Chytroeus,  Brentius,  Buggenhagen,  &c.  were 
employed  in  this  labor ;  while  Calvin,  Beza,  Zwingli  and  Bucer 
directed  their  chief  attention  to  unfold  the  particular  meaning  of 
the  Scriptures.  So  also,  at  a  later  period,  the  reformed  church 
produced  distinguished  commentators,  as  Grotius,  Episcopius, 
Clericus. 

But  Calvin  is  also  further  distinguished  from  Zwingli,  who 
translated  and  expounded  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  the  Gospels, 
Epistles,  &c. ;  and  from  GEcolampadius,  who  expounded,  among 
other  portions  of  Scripture,  Isaiah  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans,— by  his  good  taste  and  acuteness,  if  not  also  by  his  more 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  original  languages.  He  is  less  anxious 
to  discover  types  and  allegorical  meanings.  In  his  desire  to 
exhibit  the  literal  meaning  of  Scripture,  he  often  sacrifices  earlier 
proofs  and  illustrations,  and  from  the  conviction  that  the  truth 
must  finally  prevail.  Thus  he  frequently  sees  only  David  in  some 
of  the  Psalms,  in  which  he  before  supposed  he  had  found  Christ; 
and  therefore  it  was  that  Leon  blamed  him  so  much,  because  he 
selected  but  few  of  his  proofs  of  the  Trinity  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment,— but  few  types  and  prophecies.  Hutter  even  pretended 
that  he  wished  to  favor  Judaism  against  Christianity  (CalvinuS 
Judaizans). 

When  R.  Simon  unjustly  objects  to  him  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  Hebrew  but  the  letters,  and  very  little  of  Greek,  this  state 
ment,  so  often  angrily  adduced  by  the  catholics,  falls  back  upon 
the  accuser.  In  the  Old  Testament,  the  Psalms,  the  Commen- 
taries on  the  books  of  Moses  and  Daniel  are  eminently  charac- 
teristic of  his  ability, — the  Psalms  more  than  all;  for  he  could 
sympathize,  as  he  says  in  the  preface,  with  the  feelings  they  ex- 
press. He  knew,  like  David,  what  it  was  to  suffer,  and  to  lead  a 
life  of  peril  and  agitation. 

Among  his  commentaries  on  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  most  deserving  of  mention  are  those  on  the   Epistles 


A.D.  1539.]       THOLUCK    ON    CALVIN    AS    A    COMMENTATOR.  223 

of  St.  Paul.  As  a  thinker,  he  could  not  but  feel  himself  in  har- 
mony with  the  deeply  meditative  and  argumentative  Apostle. 
His  Commentary  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  deserves  also  par- 
ticular mention  ;  Calvin's  practical  religious  feeling  is  here  con- 
tinually apparent.  As  in  Luther's  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, there  breathes  the  indescribable  breath  of  life,  which  no 
learning  or  art  ever  reached  in  other  times ;  so  there  is  also  in 
Calvin's  Commentaries  a  life  and  power  not  to  be  found  in  the 
most  learned  of  modern  expositions. 

Tholuck  has  conferred  the  greatest  benefit  on  the  theological 
world  by  bringing  these  almost  forgotten  Commentaries  on  the 
New  Testament  again  into  notice.  Those  on  the  Old  will  prob- 
ably follow  ;  and  we  extract  the  following  from  Tholuck's  classi- 
cal observations  on  Calvin's  exegetical  talent. 

"  Calvin  was  not  only  skilful  and  happy  in  his  exposition  of 
the  grammatical  sense,  in  his  correct  remarkson  particular  expres- 
sions, and  in  his  characteristic  views,  but  also  in  his  inquiries 
carried  beyond  the  grammatical  into  the  historical,  poetical,  and 
prophetic  sense  of  important  passages.  All  this  shows  how  he 
penetrated  the  meaning  of  the  several  writers,  according  to  his 
power  of  dogmatic  reasoning. 

"In  his  Commentary  on  the  New  Testament,  we  cannot  but 
admire  his  simple,  elegant  style,  his  dogmatic  freedom,  the  tact 
with  which  he  treats  his  subject,  his  multifarious  learning  and 
profound  Christian  piety.  Corresponding  to  the  form  is  the  ele- 
gance of  the  diction ;  a  neatness  and  propriety  of  expression, 
especially  apparent  in  the  prefaces.  But  this  elegance  is  not  dis- 
covered in  an  affected  selection  of  words  (delectus  verborum), 
Calvin's  style  being  very  different  to  the  unnatural  puritanism  of 
a  Bembo  or  a  Castalio,  who  sacrificed  the  peculiar  expressions  of 
Christianity  for  those  of  heathenism.  So  far  is  this  from  being 
the  case,  that  one  may  always  discover  heart  and  feeling  in  what 
Calvin  wrote  ;  and  there  are  few  church  writers  indeed  who 
could  so  skilfully  combine  with  Roman  latinity  such  an  expres- 
sion of  Christian  warmth,  or  so  much  pathos  with  such  unaf- 
fected gravity. 

"  Another  excellence  in  Calvin  is  his  care  not  to  fall  into  di- 
gressions. The  Lutheran  commentators  were  engaged  rather 
in  explaining  particular  heads  of  doctrine  (loci  communes)  than 
in  writing  connected  commentaries.  Thus  we  often  miss,  in 
Melancthon  for  example,  the  explanation  of  difficult  passages, 
immediately  before  us,  while  be  dilates  at  great  length  on  others 


224  THOLUCK    ON    CALVIN    AS    A    COMMENTATOR.       [ciIAP.  XV. 

which  afford  him  the  opportunity  of  dogmatic  expositions.  Cal- 
vin himself  even  was  not  altogether  free  from  the  habit  of  his  time, 
and  often  breaks  out  into  violent  declamation  against  the  pope 
and  the  monks  ;  but  he  does  this  much  less  frequently  than  his 
contemporaries,  and  such  a  species  of  polemics  in  times  like  his 
was  not  to  be  condemned. 

"  The  dogmatic  freedom  of  an  expositor  consists  in  this,  that, 
with  all  respect  for  the  orthodox  views  of  the  church,  he  yet  does 
not  feel  himself  constrained  to  give  an  exposition  which  is  want- 
ing in  harmony,  or  which  seems  to  contradict  the  ordinary  laws 
of  language.  Tradition  may  guide,  but  it  cannot  bind.  If  the 
Socinian  and  modern  neologist  have  fallen  into  important  errors 
through  their  neglect  of  exegetical  tradition,  so,  on  the  other  side, 
were  the  Lutheran  commentators  of  the  seventeenth  century  in 
the  greatest  danger  of  again  making  tradition,  as  the  Roman 
church  before  had  done,  the  principle  of  exposition.  Calvin  pre- 
served the  right  mean  between  the  two  extremes :  he  speaks  well 
on  this  subject  in  one  of  his  prefaces. 

"  Calvin  was  far  from  following  the  error  of  Luther,  who,  neg- 
lecting the  basis  of  historical  testimony,  supplied  its  place  by 
mere  subjective  opinion,  and  hence  brought  the  genuineness  of 
Scripture  itself  into  dispute.  As  little  disposed  was  he  to  sym- 
pathize with  those  who  anxiously  defended  the  apostolic  origin  of 
writings  to  which  the  testimony  of  history  is  clearly  opposed.  He 
guards  himself  however  with  the  greatest  moderation,  where  the 
larger  number  of  historical  authorities  is  on  the  other  side,  against 
a  rash  opposition.  Thus  he  says  in  his  argument  to  the  Second 
Epistle  of  Peter,  '  Even  though  in  all  parts  of  the  Epistle  the 
majesty  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  may  be  clearly  seen,  I  regard 
it  as  a  matter  of  religion  utterly  to  reject  every  phrase  which 
cannot  be  recognized  as  the  genuine  expression  of  Peter.' 
On  the  Epistle  of  the  Hebrews,  he  says,  'I  must  not  be 
quoted  as  among  those  who  consider  Paul  the  author  of  this 
Epistle.'  He  adds  his  reasons  with  critical  and  philosophical 
acuteness. 

"  Calvin  exhibits  less  fondness  than  Erasmus  or  Beza  for  crit- 
ical inquiries.  Verbal  criticism  requires  precision.  He  passes 
over  without  any  notice  the  less  important  variations.  That 
which  most  interests  him  is  the  dogmatic  portion  of  exposition, 
but  he  had  no  desire  to  heap  together  a  vast  mass  of  orthodox  evi- 
dence. Thus,  on  John  x.  30,  he  says  :  '  The  ancient  writers 
gave   a  wrong  interpretation  of  this   passage  from  a  desire   to 


A.D.  1540.]  CALVIN    AS    A    COMMENTATOR.  225 

prove  that  Christ  is  bpooioiov  with  the  Father ;  whereas  our  Lord 
is  .disputing,  not  concerning  the  unity  of  substance,  but  on  his 
agreement  with  the  Father.'  " 

He  possesses  a  very  happy  tact  in  expounding,  and  hence  no 
forced  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  his  commentaries.  He  will 
not  place  John  on  the  same  historical  line  with  the  three  other 
Evangelists  ;  and  there  is  no  commentary  from  his  pen  on  the 
Apocalypse. 

Calvin's  learning  enters  less  into  his  expositions  than  is  the 
case  with  Beza  ;  he  is  never  thoroughly  interested  in  the  work 
of  criticism,  pays  no  especial  regard  to  codices,  makes  few  allu- 
sions, except  in  a  general  way,  to  the  old  Greek  commentators, — 
only  occasionally  expressing  an  opinion  on  Erasmus,  Origen, 
Chrysostom, — and  never  indulging  himself,  like  Beza,  in  formal, 
hostile  criticism  on  their  expositions,  or  on  the  translation  of 
Erasmus  or  the  Vulgate.  Nor  does  he  add  nice  inquiries  into 
forms  of  speech.  He  was  not  wanting  in  the  means  for  this,  but 
he  desires  to  adapt  his  work  as  much  as  possible  to  the  necessities 
of  the  public  at  large. 

Against  those,  the  mystics,  who  despised  learning,  he  says,  in 
his  note  to  one  Cor.  viii.  1,  "  Knowledge  is  no  more  to  be  found 
fault  with  because  in  some  instances  it  puffeth  up,  than  is  a 
sword,  if  it  fall  into  the  hand  of  a  madman.  This  is  said  in 
reference  to  those  fanatics  who  furiously  clamor  against  all 
art  and  all  science,  as  if  they  only  availed  to  puff  men  up,  and 
were  not  most  useful  instruments  both  of  piety  and  common 
life." 

Semmler  asserts  that  Calvin  was  mainly  indebted  to  Pellica- 
nus,  but  he  seems  to  have  been  dependent  neither  on  him  nor  on 
Zwingli. 

A  Christian,  in  whom  the  inward  life  is  so  active,  and  who 
daily  endeavors  to  walk  in  the  way  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  must 
necessarily  read  the  Scriptures  with  an  enlightened  eye,  and  be 
able  to  comprehend  and  explain  their  deep,  religious  meaning. 
In  this  respect  Calvin  and  the  other  reformers  are  on  a  line  with 
each  other,  except,  in  some  measure,  Beza  and  Camerarius, 
whose  religious  element  is  less  apparent  in  their  commentaries.. 
But  there  is  a  decided  difference  between  comprehending,  with 
profound  Christian  intelligence,  the  principles  and  particular 
doctrines  of  the  New  Testament,  according  to  their  inner  mean- 
ing, and  possessing  the  power  of  interpreting  the  holy  Scriptures 
in  i heir  mutual  connection,  by  the  help  of  a  psychology  resting 

VOL.   I. 15 


226  CALVIN  S    TRANSLATION.  [cHAP.  XVI. 

on  Christian  experience.  It  was  in  the  latter  respect  that  Calvin 
was  so  superior  to  the  other  venerated  commentators  of  his  age. 
The  unity  of  the  spirit,  which  bound  all  the  reformers  together  in 
spiritual  love,  happily  exhibited  itself  on  the  part  of  Calvin  in  the 
exposition  of  the  most  characteristic  principles  of  the  Gospel.  In 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  he  penetrates  deeply  into  the  spirit  of  the 
Apostle,  and,  as  it  may  be  so  easily  perceived,  becoming  one  with 
it,  he  explains  what  is  particular  from  what  is  general  ;  and  in 
this  respect  he  resembles  Chrysostom,  except  that  the  latter 
allowed  rhetoric  to  exercise  a  prejudicial  influence  on  his  style. 
The  whole  New  Testament  history  becomes  vital  under  Calvin's 
hand;  he  lives  in  every  active,  speaking,  individual  character,  in 
the  wicked  as  in  the  good  ;  and  he  expounds  every  discourse  from 
the  relations  and  from  the  very  souls  of  the  speakers.  In  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  especially  this  his  art  and  skill  are  exhibited 
in  the  most  wonderful  manner.  He  seizes  with  admirable  force 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  actors  mentioned  in  the  history, 
and  presents  them  to  the  reader.  In  the  same  skilful  manner  he 
expounds  the  discourses  of  St.  Paul,  and  converts  them  without 
violence  into  a  regular  and  connected  sermon. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    SCRIPTURES    TRANSLATED    INTO    FRENCH. 

In  1540  there  appeared  at  Geneva,  in  Calvin's  name,  but  dur- 
ing his  absence,  a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible,  with  the  title, 
"  The  Bible  ;  in  which  are  contained  all  the  canonical  books  both 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  translated  into  French,  by  John 
Calvin." 

This  was  the  mightiest  weapon  which  the  spirit  of  truth  em- 
ployed against  the  spirit  which,  in  the  same  year,  established  the 
order  of  Jesuits  ;  a  spirit  which,  not  immediately  indeed  (for  Lo- 
yola, with  a  nobler  species  of  enthusiasm,  sought  to  create  a  spirit- 
ual chivalry  for  his  church),  but  yet  soon  connected  itself  with 
worldly  prudence.  This  instructed  its  votaries  to  become,  or 
to  seem,  all  things  to  all  men, — pious  to  the  good,  vain  to  the 
wicked.  But  the  effort  was  powerless  against  the  truth,  which 
then  beginning  with   the  Bible,  penetrated  alike  the  palace  and 


A.D.  1540.]  THE    REFORMERS    AND    THE    JESUITS.  227 

the  hovel.  Let  any  one  compare  the  work  of  Calvin  and  Luther 
with  that  of  Loyola,  who  was  born  within  ten  years  of  the  latter, 
as  a  sign  that  struggles  and  conflicts  will  always  exist  upon  the 
earth,  and  let  them  see  on  which  side  the  victory  is.  The  So- 
ciety of  Jesus  appeared  on  the  horizon  like  a  comet,  threatening 
ruin  to  mankind,  and  striving  to  involve  in  darkness  the  fair, 
double  star  of  truth.  But  the  holy  Scriptures,  which  both  ex- 
plained according  to  their  peculiar  views,  gained  the  victory  over 
that  institution.  Falling  inward  upon  itself,  oppressed  by  its  own 
chief,  and  dispersed,  it  has  been  revived  in  later  times  only  to 
prove  how  utterly  weak  is  this  spirit  of  the  world. 

If  we  compare  the  two  reformers  together,  we  are  bound  to  give 
Calvin  the  first  rank  in  what  concerns  the  more  learned  exposi- 
tion of  Scripture,  but  to  assign  it  to  Luther  when  we  take  into 
account  his  popular  translation.  The  version  above  alluded  to 
did  not  proceed  altogether  from  the  spirit  of  Calvin.  It  was  only 
an  edition,  revised  by  him,  of  that  of  Olivetan,  who  had  before 
him  the  translation  made  by  Le  Fevre  d'Etaples,  published  at 
Antwerp,  1530. 

Robert  Olivetan,  a  relation  of  Calvin,  from  Noyon,  whose 
death  he  laments  in  one  of  his  writings  (1539),  and  Calvin  him- 
self, undertook,  at  an  early  period,  to  correct  le  Fevre's  transla- 
tion by  a  comparison  with  the  original  text.  They  had  not  suffi- 
cient money  at  that  time  to  venture  upon  the  publication  of  a 
new  edition.  But  when  Farel  visited  the  Waldenses,  in  the  val- 
ley of  Angrogna,  he  found  there  only  written  copies  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  those  of  a  remote  date.  The  people  experienced  the 
greatest  want  of  printed  Bibles.  So  urgent  was  their  feeling  on 
this  subject,  that  they  offered  to  collect  the  money  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  desired  object.  They  freely  gave  of  their  property 
all  that  they  had,  and  Farel  received  through  the  brothers  Adam 
and  Olivetan,  whom  he  sent  into  the  valleys  after  his  return,  a 
commission  to  superintend  the  printing  of  a  Bible  for  their  use. 
Fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  gold  were  forwarded  by  these  poor  de- 
voted people  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  work, — an  immense  sum 
for  those  times  and  for  such  a  people. 

Beza,  in  his  church  history,  describing  the  mission  of  the  Wal- 
denses, relates  that,  "in  the  year  1535,  they  printed  at  their  ex- 
pense, at  Neuchatel,  the  first  French  Bible  of  those  times,  trans- 
lated from  the  Hebrew  by  P.  R.  Olivetan,  assisted  by  John 
Calvin,  who  subsequently  frequently  corrected  it  in  particular 
passages.     For  with    regard    to    the  French  translations  of  the 


228  FRENCH    TRANSLATIONS    OF    THE    BIBLE.       [CHAP.  XVI. 

Bible  formerly  printed,  and  during  the  darkness  of  ignorance. 
the}'  exhibited  nothing  but  errors  and  barbarisms." 

The  French  had  not  the  happiness,  like  the  Germans,  to  pos- 
sess already  several  versions  of  the  Scriptures.  Earlier  experi- 
ments had  been  lost  during  the  persecutions.  It  is  well  known 
that  Waldo  translated  the  Bible  into  the  vulgar  tongue. 

At  Geneva,  help  was  obtained  from  the  manuscript  copies  of 
the  Bible  translated  by  Guiars  of  Moulins.  P.  R.  Oiiveian  im- 
proved Faber's  translation,  which  was  only,  it  is  supposed,  a 
translation  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  Vulgate,  according  to 
Pagninus,  and  that  by  Erasmus  of  the  New.  This  translation 
was  published  under  Calvin's  name,  in  1540,  and  at  Lyons  in 
1511,  1545.  After  the  death  of  Olivetan,  Calvin  revised  the 
whole  work.  It  again  appeared  at  Geneva  in  1551.  and  was  re- 
printed by  R.  Stephanus  in  1553.  This  last  edition  must  be 
considered  as  the  authorized  Bible  of  the  reformed  church.  In 
1557,  15S0,  1G37,  1009  it  was  republished  by  Desmarets ;  in  1707 
by  Martin,  in  1724  by  Osterwald,  in  1805  by  the  clergy  of  Geneva, 
in  very  elegant  style,  but  not  literally.  The  New  Testament, 
translated  by  Beausobre  and  Lenfant,  appeared  in  1728.  This 
work  exhibits  great  diligence,  but  little  life  or  freshness.  It  came 
not  gushing  from  the  heart,  it  bore  no  impress  of  the  soul ;  it  was 
the  production  of  learning,  not  of  the  spirit. 

The  translation  by  Castalio  (published  at  Basel,  1555).  Calvin's 
opponent,  was  less  fortunate  than  that  of  Olivetan.  Castalio, 
though  so  celebrated  for  his  knowledge  of  the  ancient  languages, 
was  but  little  skilled  in  writing  his  own  ;  his  style  wanted  dignity 
and  grace. 

The  German  reformed  church  would  not  recognize  the  great 
excellence  of  the  Lutheran  translation.  Another  German  trans- 
lation therefore  was  made  by  Jos.  Piscator,  in  L602,  at  Herborn, 
but  it  met  with  no  success.  Like  Tremellius,  he  was  too  anxious 
to  be  literal. 

When  we  consider  these  various  experiments,  and  see  how 
others  continue  to  be  made  in  France,  but  with  little  advantage, 
we  cannot  but  regret  that  Calvin  did  not  put  his  hand  heartily 
to  the  work,  and  by  the  exercise  of  his  originality  and  authority 
enrich  the  French  church  and  language,  with  a  translation  in- 
spired by  the  breath  of  God.  He  was  the  only  man  fitted  to  un- 
dertake this  work,  for  it  was  not  mere  learning  which  such  a 
practical  and  popular  design  required,  but  a  deep  Christian  life, 
an  inward    comprehensive   thought,   recognizing   the   fulness   of 


A.D.  1510.]       FRENCH    TRANSLATIONS    OF    THE    BIBLE.  229 

grace  and  the  misery  of  man, — a  sentiment  only  really  felt  in 
those  times  of  anxiety  when  the  heart  cries  to  God  for  help,  and 
finds  in  the  struggle  the  right  expression  of  its  emotions.  I 
should  therefore  prefer  to  all  the  modern  translations  the  first  old 
French  version,  freed  from  its  particular  blemishes,  which,  with 
the  Lutheran,  notwithstanding  all  its  errors,  will  continue  to  be 
the  most  useful  for  Christians,  till  at  some  future  period  of 
struggle,  difficulty  and  inspiration,  a  translator  shall  appear, 
superior  to  the  world,  with  all  its  erudition,  its  fine,  precise  and 
heartless  speculations.  The  most  learned  men  in  these  quiet 
times  can  scarcely  translate  a  psalm  so  as  to  render  it  edifying 
to  (he  ears  of  the  common  people,  nor  the  poets  address  a  song 
to  the  honor  of  God  fitted  to  exalt  the  soul.  Their  thoughts 
cannot  discover  the  wonderful  land  where  resounds  the  eternal 
hallelujah.  There  are  learned  orations  enough,  but  who  ever 
hears  a  melody  in  these  days  which  stirs  the  conscience  ?  But 
when  a  spirit-gifted  man,  superior  to  his  times  in  thought  and 
feeling,  to  whom  the  people  are  indebted  for  all  they  enjoy,  and 
whom  future  ages  will  honor,  comes  forth  with  such  a  work, 
that  work  will  remain  as  a  sacred  thing,  whatever  the  storms  or 
the  changes  which  take  place  around  it.  It  can  never  be  reduced 
to  a  likeness  with  the  perverted,  artificial  creature  of  fashion,  or 
lose  itself  in  the  watery,  common-place  insignificancy  of  the 
times.  He  alone  who  can  produce  works  of  this  kind  influences 
the  language  and  the  imagination  of  his  countrymen,  instead  of 
being  governed  by  them.  His  work  is  like  the  family-book  of 
prayer  for  the  whole  people,  the  book  which  shall  preserve  the  old 
simple  speech  of  early  days  for  coming  generations,  and  defy  the 
influence  of  innovation. 

It  has  been  rightly  said  of  Luther,  "  that  a  German  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible  was  a  labor  which  only  an  extraordinary  man 
could  have  accomplished  at  such  a  period,  or  have  performed  in  a 
manner  so  surpassing  the  expectation  of  all  his  contemporaries. 
Even  posterity  still  contemplates  with  admiration  the  spirit  of 
the  translator  in  Luther's  work, — the  force  of  the  language,  its 
dignity  and  grace,  the  correct  taste,  the  fine  feeling,  the  har- 
mony of  the  style  with  the  subject,  from  the  simplest  narrative 
to  the  sublimest  and  most,  spiritual  psalm  ;  while  the  ease  and 
rhythm  are  preserved,  which  both  please  the  ear  and  favor  de- 
votion.'' 

This  admiration  is  increased  when  we  consider  that  Luther 
was  obliged  to  create  a  language  for  himself.     He  is  the  Dante 


230  EARLY    FRENCH    LITERATURE.  [ciIAP.  XVII. 

of  the  high-German  speech.  Like  that  great  man,  he  gathered 
from  all  the  idioms  of  the  language  the  most  significant  and  the 
most  sonorous,  and  then  blended  them,  according  to  strict  anal- 
ogy, with  the  popular  idiom  of  his  own  countrymen.  Luther's 
language  is  still  thj  foundation  of  our  classical,  literary  lan- 
guage, and  this  is  enough  to  prove  how  entirely  his  experiment 
succeeded. 

Calvin,  who  has  also  exercised  an  acknowledged  influence  on 
the  French  language,  might  have  easily  modified  its  whole  struc- 
ture according  to  his  spirit,  and  have  created  it,  as  it  were,  anew. 
Though  not  in  the  same  way  as  the  Academy  and  theatre  at  Pa- 
ris, yet  like  Luther  in  Germany,  he  would  have  become  an  au- 
thority, had  he  fixed  the  lordly  simplicity  of  the  old  French  lan- 
guage, preserved  to  the  times  of  Louis  XIV.,  when  the  reformers 
were  so  numerous  in  France,  in  a  beautiful  and  popular  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible.  It  is  even  now  the  grand  but  the  fruitless 
aim  of  the  so-called  romantic  school  to  imitate  this  early  excel- 
lence of  the  language  ;  to  Oppose  its  naivete  to  the  modern 
affectation  of  classical  precision  ;  an  excellence  which  so  charms 
us  in  Montaigne,  and  many  other  early  writers,  who  exhibit  a 
freedom  and  idiomatic  variety  which  the  excessive  refinement  of 
later  times,  we  know  not  why,  has  altogether  suppressed.  What 
might  we  not  have  looked  for  from  this  language,  if,  susceptible 
as  it  is  of  the  highest  improvement,  as  the  daughter  of  the 
ancient  languages,  it  had  preserved  with  its  tact  and  its  logical 
exactness,  that  genial  depth  and  simplicity  which  we  so  admire 
in  the  old  French  poets?  Our  own  age  is  emulous  of  the  genius, 
the  simplicity  of  heart  and  freshness  of  former  times,  and  it  is 
making  a  vain  effort  to  inoculate  itself  by  artificial  means  with 
those  main  characteristics  of  an  earlier  literature. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CALVIN    AT    THE    DIET    OF    WORMS    AND    RATISBONE. HE 

BECOMES    THE    FRIEND    OP    MELANCTHON. 

In  the  year  1539—10.  the  emperor  commanded    the  protestant 
and  catholic    divines  to  assemble  at  Worms,  and  afterwards  at 


A.D.  1540.]  DIET    OF    WORMS.  231 

Ratisbone,  in  order,  under  the  presidency  of  Granvella,  to  concert 
measures  for  restoring  concord.  We  give  the  history  of  this 
affair. 

The  protestants  desired  the  emperor  to  allow  this  conference 
to  be  held  as  determined  at  Frankfort  ;    but  it  was  considered 
by  the   pope  as  an  interference  with  his  rights,  as  the  supreme 
judge  in  controversies,  that  any  one  but  himself   should    enter 
into  such    inquiries,  or  pretend    to  decide    upon   the  subjects  in 
question.     He  therefore  did  all  in  his  power  to  hinder  the  pro- 
ceedings.     Charles,  whose  greater  interest  it  was  to  secure  the 
good-will  of   the  Germans,   rather  than    the  approbation  of  the 
pope,  paid  no  attention  to  the  warnings  of  his  holiness.      Prepa- 
rations were  made  for  the  conference  at  Hagenau,  and  the  busi- 
ness of  the  meeting  was  begun  at  Worms.      Melancthon  repre- 
sented the  one  side,  and  Eckius  the  other.     They  had  already 
proceeded    far  in  their   labors,  without  coming  to  a  conclusion, 
when   the  emperor  gave  orders  for  the  conference  to  be  broken 
up,   that   it   might   be  recommenced  with   greater   solemnity   in 
Ratisbone.  at  the  assembling  of  the  diet  in  that  city  the  follow- 
ing year.     This  was  done,  and  the  meeting  took  place  with  great 
pomp    and    ceremony.      Every  one  expected  a  violent    struggle 
and  some  final  decision.      Both    parties  agreed  to  leave  to  the 
emperor    the  choice  of   those  who  were  to  conduct    the  debate, 
and,  instead  of  indulging  in  open  strife,  it  was  hoped  that  the 
different    divines    might  inquire,  in  a  friendly  manner,  into  the 
nature  of  the  disputed   points.      This  diet  is  also  further  remark- 
able   from  the  circumstance,  that  the  Venetian,  Gaspar  Conta- 
rini,  who  had  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  cardinal  by  Paul  III., 
and  who,  as  a  noble  catholic,  was  celebrated  for  his  mildness  of 
character  and  his  inward  convictions  of  the  necessity  of  reform, 
enjoyed  on  this  occasion  the  largest  share  of  influence.      The 
two  parties  seemed  on   the  point  of  reconciliation,  and   the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  had  such   been  the  case,  would  have  taken  a 
different  direction.      It  is  well    known  that  the  protestants    did 
not  willingly  separate  from  the  great  unity,  and  the  pope  seemed 
now  ready  to  yield  in   many  respects  to  their  demands.      Polit- 
ical   relations    favored    this    placable    disposition  ;     the    emperor 
wished  to  see  concord   established  ;    Melancthon   and   Bucer  were 
inclined  to  peace,   and  Contarini    freely   offered  them  his  hand. 
He  agreed  with  the  reformers  in  adopting  the  idea  of  justifica- 
tion as    his    starting-point,  and    allowed    that    it  proceeds    from 


232  calvin's  opinion  of  eckius.         [chap.  xvii. 

faith,  without  any  merit  of  our  own,  insisting  only  that  this  faith 
must  be  an  active  faith. 

I  lopes  were  entertained  that  the  period  of  reconciliation  was 
riot  far  distant.  It  was  necessary  however  that  the  pope  and 
Luther  should  give  their  consent;  and  of  these,  the  one  thought 
that  there  was  not  truth  enough,  the  other  that  there  was  too 
much.  That  Calvin's  penetrating  judgment  did  not  allow  him, 
even  from  the  beginning,  to  indulge  in  the  expectations  of  the 
public,  is  plainly  indicated  in  his  correspondence.  Dissatisfied 
with  the  yielding  temper  of  Bucer  and  Melancthon,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  he  exercised  some  degree  of  influence  on  the  feel- 
ings of  those  concerned.  His  opinion  was  highly  esteemed,  and, 
like  Luther,  he  firmly  opposed  every  attempt  to  effect  a  union 
which  might  in  the  least  endanger  truth.  He  had  no  wish  to 
take  any  part,  in  the  business  of  the  diet;  its  uselessness  was 
evident  to  him  from  the  first  ;  he  had  no  trust  in  Contarini.* 
On  the  side  of  the  catholics  the  emperor  nominated  Eckius, 
Chopper  and  Pflug  ;  on  that  of  the  protestants,  Melancthon, 
Bucer,  Pistorius.  These  were  all  distinguished  men,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  Eckius,  in  favor  of  peace.  Calvin  gives  his 
opinion  of  them  in  a  letter  to  Farel  :t — "It  is  above  all  things 
necessary  for  us  to  prove  the  dispositions  of  those  employed  in 
ibis  business.  Julius  Pflug  is  an  eloquent  man,  and  of  culti- 
vated mind,  but  a  very  weak  theologian  ;  and,  though  irreproach- 
able in  his  life,  is  ambitious  and  a  courtier.  As  he  therefore 
neither  possesses  the  requisite  knowledge,  nor  is  sufficiently 
firm,  and  is  at  the  same  time  wrought  upon  by  his  own  desire  of 
distinction,  you  may  easily  understand  how  little  is  to  be  expected 
from  him.  Cropper  perhaps  goes  somewhat  further,  but  he  is  one 
of  those  men  who  arc  always  for  half-measures,  for  taking  a  mid- 
dle path  between  Christ  and  the  world.  But  still  there  is  (bat  in 
him  which  make  him  useful  in  an  affair  of  this  kind.  You  know 
Eckius  well  enough.  No  one  doubts  but  that  this  Davus  will 
ruin  everything  by  his  restless  interference.  I  must  nut  indeed  al- 
together despair,  but  I  cannot  avoid  letting  my  thoughts  revert  to 
Worms.  Certainly  I  shall  be  surprised  if  we  obtain  any  result 
worth  mentioning." 

Wliii  the  conference  began,  the  emperor  distributed  a  little 
work,  which  was  so  clear  and   moderate  in  sentiment,  and  so  in 


"  Quod  Contarenus  mallet  si  potest  nos  sine  credo  rcpriruere." 
t  MSS.  Gen. 


A.D.  1540.]  LUTHER    ON    THE    CONFERENCE.  233 

accordance  with  his  own  feelings,  that  it  was  calculated  to  satisfy 
all  parties.  It  exhibited  in  twenty-two  articles,  and  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible  and  the  fathers,  all  the  points  in  dispute.* 

Mathesius  thus  writes  respecting  it. : — "  While  however  many 
prudent  worldly  people  were  angry  at  the  very  idea  of  a  confer- 
ence, and  others  treated  the  subject  of  a  union  between  the  two 
religions  with  contempt,  but  not  without  ability,  a  book  was 
composed,  intended  to  please  both  parties,  and  which,  after  the 
death  of  Dr.  Martinus,  led  to  the  establishment  of  the  Interim. 
Many  people  pressed  eagerly  for  a  union,  and  the  pious  emperor 
would  gladly  have  seen  peace  and  quiet  restored,  threatening  as 
was  the  approach  of  the  Turkish  forces  towards  Germany.  Our 
own  party  appealed  to  the  confession  of  Augsburg,  and  stated 
their  reasons  why  they  could  not  adopt  this  new,  weather-chang- 
ing, double-tongued  book  of  collected  religions.  Legates  were 
also  despatched  to  Wittenberg,  and  were  referred  to  Dr.  Martinus. 
The  doctor  remarks  how  Satan  had  it  in  his  mind  to  make  a 
breach  in  our  religion.  Therefore  as  to  what  concerns  the  cere- 
monies and  outward  usages  of  the  church,  he  counselled  unity. 
With  regard  also  to  the  articles  of  belief,  which  were  not  of  his 
creating,  but  were  the  work  of  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  he  had 
nothing  to  alter  or  to  yield.  Thus  he  could  never  consider  it  ad- 
visable to  allow  dangerous,  subtle,  double-meaning  words  to  slip 
in,  for  reducing  the  most  important  articles  to  uniformity.  The 
Scriptures,  he  said,  were  like  a  ring,  which,  if  broken  in  only  one 
place,  is  nowhere  whole." 

Francis  did  what  he  could  to  hinder  the  union  of  the  parties. 
It  is  unjust  to  accuse  the  protestants  of  having  been  mainly  in- 
strumental in  preventing  a  reconciliation.  The  greatest  resistance 
was  on  the  side  of  the  catholics,  who  were  far  from  sincerely  de- 
siring ecclesiastical  reform.  Little  satisfaction  was  felt  at  Rome 
in  respect  to  the  Ratisbone  articles,  and  Contarini  was  badly 
rewarded  for  his  faithful  exertions.  The  protestants  were  as  far 
from  being  satisfied  ;  and  Charles,  hoping  to  obtain  their  help 
against  the  Turks  in  Hungary,  gave  them  an  explicit  assurance 
that  they  should  be  exempted  from  the  decisions  of  the  diet.  But 
he  left  Hungary  to  its  fate,  and  the  protection  of  Ferdinand  of 
Austria,  and  undertook  in  the  same  year  his  unlucky  expedition 
against  Algiers,  in  which  his  numerous  fleet  and  army  were  so 
remarkably  destroyed  by  storms  and  tempests,  and  he  himself  so 
narrowly  escaped. 

*  It  -was  ascribed  to  Gropper. 


234  CALVIN    AT    WORMS.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

Let  us  now  accompany  Calvin  to  the  old  imperial  city,  already 
rendered  so  dear  to  us  by  the  memory  of  Luther.  He  was  sent 
thither  by  Strasburg;  and  thus,  though  a  Frenchman,  and  still 
young,  naturally  timid  and  loving  a  retired  life,  he  began  to  be 
engaged  in  the  most  important  affairs  of  Germany.  Sturm  ex- 
pressly states  that  Calvin  was  sent  to  Worms  by  the  people  of 
Strasburg: — " Some  write,  I  hear,  that  Calvin  has  accompanied 
us  to  Worms  merely  for  the  sake  of  pleasure,  and  not  as  sent  by 
a  vote  of  the  council.  If  this  be  said  in  ignorance,  they  who 
make  the  statement  err;  but  if  it  be  said  intentionally,  they  are 
guilty  of  a  falsehood.  I  here  give  the  true  account  of  the  matter. 
Calvin's  spirit  greatly  pleased  Jacob  Sturm,  and  it  was  evident 
that  it  would  be  vastly  to  the  honor  of  our  city,  if  we  could  have 
him  to  represent  us  in  the  assembly  of  the  distinguished  men  at 
the  diet.  Another  reason  was,  that  the  dukes  of  Liineburg  had 
named  Calvin  and  me  to  be  present  at  the  discussion  which  might 
arise  from  the  acts."  Bucer's  letter  to  the  Genevese  is  to  the  same 
effect. 

Caspar  Cruciger,  professor  at  Wittenberg,  was  also  at  Worms  ; 
and  Calvin  and  he  entered  into  a  mutual  explanation  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  Lord's  Supper.  But  here  especially  the  two  most  ac- 
complished theologians  of  the  da)^,  Melanctfaon  and  Calvin,  learnt 
to  know  each  other  better, ,  and  formed  an  intimate  friendship, 
which  continued  through  life,  and  proved  of  great  value  to 
the  church.  Calvin  had  already,  at  Frankfort,  become  greatly 
attached  to  him.  But.  it  was  now  that  the  Wittenberger  felt  so 
impressed  with  the  erudition  and  genius  of  Calvin,  that  he  publicly 
bestowed  upon  him  the  honorable  title  of  "the  Theologian,"  in 
preference  to  all  the  others, — a  distinction  which  had  a  real  value 
as  coming  from  the  mouth  of  Melancthon.  Their  friendship  was 
grounded  upon  mutual  respect,  and  proofs  remain  to  show  that 
their  confidence  in  each  other  never  ceased.  It  appears  however 
that  there  was  more  of  love  on  the  side  of  Calvin,  more  of  esteem 
on  that  of  Melancthon. 

The  following  will  give  some  notion  of  Calvin's  able  conduct. 
The  dean  of  Passau,  Robertas  Moshamus,  was  present.  This 
person,  a  mere  sciolist,  who  had  disputed  with  Calvin  at  Stras- 
burg in  the  presence  of  Jacob  Sturm,  and  with  such  little  suc- 
cess, now  renewed  the  dispute  in  the  presence  of  Melancthon. 
and  was  again  conquered.  Sturmius  writes  on  this:  "Melanc- 
thon was  present  when  Calvin  overcame  the  dean  of  Passau  at 
Worms/'      It  was  Calvin's  admirable  confutation   of  this  papist, 


A.D.  1541.]  CALVIN    AND    MELANCTHON.  235 

which  so  delighted  the  evangelical  party,  and  led  Melancthon 
and  the  rest  to  give  him  the  dignified  title  of  "  the  Theolo- 
gian." 

We  learn  from  a  letter  of  Calvin  to  Farel,  that  the  main  subject 
of  dispute  was  the  real  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ,  which  Cal- 
vin denied.  Sturmius  also  relates  that  it  was  here,  where  Me- 
lancthon first  became  personally  acquainted  with  Calvin,  that 
they  formed  that  true  brotherly  friendship  for  each  other  which 
continued  to  unite  them  through  life.  Many  proofs  exist  that 
Calvin  did  not  conceal  his  opinions  on  the  sacrament.  He  in- 
sisted that  the  expression.  ''This  is  my  body,"  &c.  ought  not  to 
be  interpreted,  according  to  Zwingli,  this  signifies,  &c. 

How  unwillingly  Calvin  exposed  himself  to  this  unquiet  sort 
of  life  appears  from  his  declaration  to  Farel,  that,  far  different 
from  Luther,  he  was  not  created  for  strife  and  contention.  u  I 
have  been  dragged  against  my  will  to  Ratisbone."*  So  too, 
when  sent  as  a  deputy  from  Strasburg  to  that  city,  he  thus 
speaks  of  his  state  of  mind  :  "At  one  moment  I  tremble  at  our 
security  ;  at  another  I  am  bowed  down  with  terror,  and  thus 
every  day  brings  with  it  some  fresh  anxiety,  some  trouble  arising 
from  the  dvyajuia,  or  rather  the  dvoyaftiuj  Still  lam  not  altogether 
spiritless." 

With  regard  to  the  theological  disputes  at  the  diet,  Calvin 
states  that  the  parties  engaged  easily  agreed  with  each  other  on 
the  subject  of  original  sin,  and  on  that  of  free-will  as  repre- 
sented by  Augustine.  The  doctrine  of  justification  was  attended 
with  greater  difficulty ;  but  the  catholics  yielded  much.  Then 
followed  an  argument  respecting  the  church.  Both  parties 
agreed  in  the  definition  of  a  church,  but  not  so  on  the  power 
of  the  church,  and  at  length  the  article  was  laid  aside.  The 
dispute  was  then  renewed  on  the  subject  of  the  sacraments;  that 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  presented  insurmountable  difficulties. 
Transubstantiation,  with  all  its  accompaniments,  was  rejected 
by  the  reformers.  "  My  colleague,"  says  Calvin,  "  who  is 
always  wishing  for  peace,  was  very  angry  that  this  question 
should  be  so  unseasonably  brought  forward.  Philip,  on  the 
other  hand,  distressed  himself  more  and  more  when  he  saw 
things  in  such  an  unpromising  condition,  at  the  idea  of  giving 
up  all  hopes  of  union.     Our  friends  having  consulted   together, 

*  Feb.  19,  1540.     MSS.  Gen 

f  This  is  supposed  to  be  said  in  allusion  to  the  double  and  injurious  marriage  of 
Philip  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse. 


236  LETTER    TO    FAREL.  [ciIAP.  XVII. 

summoned  us  to  give  our  opinion  distinctly  and  separately.  There 
was  but  one  voice  and  one  sentiment.  All  agreed  that  transub- 
stantiation  is  a  mere  invention,  and  the  worship  which  it  requires 
a  superstition,  at  least  very  perilous,  since  not  recognized  by  the 
Word  of  God.  I  was  obliged  to  express  my  meaning  in  Latin, 
and  rejected,  though  I  had  not  heard  the  others,  freely  and  with- 
out fear  of  offence,  the  doctrine  of  the  real  presence.  I  declared 
that  the  adoration  of  the  host  was  intolerable  to  me.  Be  assured. 
in  such  affairs  strong  souls  are  required  to  support  the  weak. 
Pray  earnestly  to  the  Lord  to  aid  us  by  his  spirit,  and  so  inspire 
us  with  courage.  A  paper  written  by  Philip  was  handed  in  and 
given  to  Granvella,  but  rejected  with  hard  words.  If  this  be  the 
commencement,  what  numberless  difficulties  have  we  not  to  ex- 
pect, when  we  proceed  to  treat  of  private  masses,  the  sacrifice, 
and  the  cup?" — (Ep.  32.) 

"If  we  could  be  satisfied  with  a  half  Christ,  we  should  soon 
agree.  Philip  and  Bucer  drew  up  formularies  on  tran substantia- 
tion with  a  double  meaning  and  falsely  colored,  endeavoring 
to  satisfy  their  opponents  with  glittering  vapors.  I  do  not  like 
this  mode  of  proceeding,  even  when  there  is  any  foundation  for  it. 
They  hoped  that  if  a  door  were  but  once  opened  to  true  doctrine, 
all  this  would  be  settled  of  itself.  Thus  they  preferred  leaping 
over  the  difficulty,  and  did  not  shrink  from  employing  this  deceit- 
ful kind  of  speech,  than  which  there  can  be  nothing  more  dis- 
graceful. I  testify  to  you  and  to  all  pious  men,  that  they  are  both 
indeed  animated  by  an  excellent  spirit,  and  are  only  anxious  to 
further  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  but  they  both  are  too  ready  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  opinions  of  the  time.  No  one 
contends  more  boldly  against  the  in-breaded  (impanatus)  God, 
than  Brentius." 

LETTER    TO    FAREL,    JULY,   1541. 

Melancthon  and  Bucer  would  fain  have  prevented  his  de- 
parture, but  he  returned  to  Strasburg.  "Nothing  was  concluded 
at  Ratisbone.  From  the  moment  that  we  found  it  impossible 
to  agree  on  the  question  of  the  Lord's  Sapper,  it  was  vain  to 
hope  to  arrive  at  any  understanding  on  the  other  subjects.  You 
know  that  we  were  all  satisfied,  that  transubstantiation  is  an  in- 
vention, which  can  be  reconciled  neither  with  the  Word  of  God 
nor  with  the  nature  of  the  sacrament.  As  the  three  evangelical 
theologians  persisted  in  giving  this  answer,  Granvella  pressed 
Melancthon  with  hard  words  ;  and  when  nothing  could  be  effected 


A.D.  1541.]  LETTER    TO    FAREL.  237 

with  him,  he  hoped  to  succeed  with  the  two  others.  Not  gain- 
ing his  object,  he  gave  orders  to  proceed  further.  This  being 
the  case,  the  margrave  of  Brandenburg  sent  a  messenger,  a 
prince  of  Anhalt,  secretly,  but  with  the  knowledge  of  the  empe- 
ror, to  Luther ;  for  he  hoped  that  the  latter,  in  the  present  cir- 
cumstances, might  be  more  favorable  to  the  papists  than  any  of 
us  are.  I  have  not  learnt  what  reply  the  messenger  brought, 
but  I  am  convinced  Luther  will  not  have  answered  badly.  The 
three  questions  still  remained,  respecting  the  offering  of  the  mass, 
private  masses,  and  the  sacrament  in  both  kinds.  Our  oppo- 
nents gave  up  the  sale  and  the  great  number  of  masses,  and 
required  only  one  daily  in  every  church ;  and  this  according 
to  the  principle,  that  a  congregation  is  necessary  to  witness  the 
mystery,  and  that  the  exhortation  must  be  addressed  to  a  com- 
munity. The  cup,  it  was  conceded,  should  be  given  freely  to 
every  one  who  required  it ;  but  the  question  of  the  sacrifice  of 
the  mass  was  glossed  over  with  a  sophistical  explanation.  All 
this  was  rejected.  Philip  proposed  other  articles  of  an  opposite 
tendency,  but  they  were  also  set  aside.  The  dispute  afterwards 
turned  upon  confession  :  here  our  opponents  yielded  as  to  the 
necessity  of  an  exact  detail  of  principles,  but  still  insisted  upon 
the  necessity  of  confession  and  absolution.  Our  friends  gave  in 
an  opposite  form.  The  invocation  of  saints,  the  primacy  of  the 
pope,  the  authority  of  the  church,  were  also  discussed  with  as 
little  success.  At  the  conclusion  the  emperor  thanked  the  depu- 
ties with  kind  and  candid  expressions  for  having  faithfully  per- 
formed their  task.  Just  at  this  time  messengers  arrived  from 
Austria  and  Hungary,  praying  most  humbly  for  assistance.  The 
emperor  commanded  that  attention  should  now  be  turned  from 
the  affairs  of  religion  to  other  matters ;  and  when  I  saw  that  a 
truce  was  thus  granted  us,  I  took  advantage  of  the  circumstance, 
and  made  my  escape." 

Calvin  could  effect  nothing  at  Ratisbone  on  behalf  of  the  per- 
secuted believers  in  France,  except  that  a  letter  was  addressed 
to  king  Francis  by  all  the  German  protestant  princes,  in  which 
they  acknowledged  themselves  the  brethren  of  the  sufferers,  and 
entreated  their  deliverance  with  heartfelt  earnestness.  They 
said,  that  they  had  read  the  Confession  of  Faith,  which  these 
martyrs  had  laid  before  the  tribunal  at  Grenoble,  and  that  they 
must  therefore  "  so  much  the  more  earnestly  pray  for  them, 
since  this  confession  was  the  pious  and  pure  belief  of  the  cath- 
olic   church,    which,"    they    add,    <:  we   also   acknowledge ;    and 


238  CALVIN    AND    MELANCTHON.  [cHAP.  XVII. 

therefore  entreat  that  they  who  suffer  for  this  belief  may  be  set 
free,  and  that  their  lives  may  be  spared.  We  have  heard  that 
pardon  is  promised  to  some,  if  they  will  renounce  their  confession. 
But  this  would  be  worse  than  death.  We  pray  therefore  that 
this  condition  may  be  moderated.  The  king  himself  knows  how 
terrible  it  would  be  to  him  to  do  anything-,  in  matters  of  religion, 
against  his  conscience." 

This  year,  1541,  seems  to  have  yielded  a  plentiful  harvest  for 
the  confessors  of  the  truth,  and  the  martyrs  in  France  who  panted 
eagerly  for  the  crown.  In  Crespin's  Martyrology  many  are  spoken 
of  who  deserve  to  be  still  remembered.  For  example,  "  Aymond 
de  la  Voye  of  Picardie  was  among  the  first  who  preached  secretly 
in  France,  and  founded  the  reformed  church."*  Persecution  was 
now  also  raging  in  England,  and  the  inquisition  was  established 
in  the  Netherlands,  where  the  customary  punishment  for  men  was 
to  be  burnt  alive,  and  for  women  to  be  buried  alive, — a  horrible 
and  psychologically  skilful  choice  of  punishments,  originating  in 
the  brain  of  Spanish  inquisitors. 

Very  different  in  character  were  Calvin  and  Melancthon. 
Calvin,  from  the  warmth  of  his  temperament,  was  more  like 
Luther ;  but  he  stood  to  him  in  the  relation  of  a  son  to  a  father, 
and  did  not  venture  to  form  an  intimate  union  with  him.  The 
tender,  gentle  Melancthon  however  must  have  found  a  response 
in  the  strong  soul  of  Calvin.  The  latter  is  commonly  accused 
of  too  much  sharpness  and  austerity,  and  is  thus  compared  to 
his  prejudice  with  Melancthon.  But  we  may  properly  regard 
him  as  standing  between  Luther  and  Melancthon, — austere,  on 
the  one  hand,  obstinate  from  conviction  in  matters  of  supreme 
importance ;  but,  on  the  other,  yielding,  with  a  warm  heart  and 
kindly  disposition,  and  mild  as  Melancthon  himself,  when  not 
carried  away  by  his  dread  of  consequences.  The  most  amiable 
features  of  his  character  have  hitherto  been  always  overlooked. 
Still  Melancthon  stands  higher  than  both  reformers,  making 
himself  by  his  Christian  tenderness  and  simplicity  of  disposi- 
tion beloved  even  by  his  enemies;  a  proof  of  this,  that  Christian 
love,  when  pure,  is  not  to  be  resisted.  Calvin  thoroughly  under- 
stood him,  and  often  sought  his  advice.  Sometimes  he  was 
severe  upon  Melancthon,  and  chided  him  for  any  appearance  of 
weakness,  without  however  losing  sight  of  his  rare  merit,  as  may 
be  learnt  from  the  following  passage,  and  others  of  his  writings 
on  the  subject  of  the  sacrament:! — "Would  to  Cod  we  could 
*  P.  1'29.  f  Ep.  141,  Nov.  1552. 


A.D.  1541.]  CALVIN    AND    MELANCTHON.  239 

speak  together.  Your  ability,  love  of  truth,  and  meekness  are  well 
known  to  me ;  and  the  angels  and  the  whole  world  bear  witness 
to  your  piety.  I  do  not  doubt  therefore  but  that  we  shall  soon  be 
wholly  agreed  on  this  subject.  Fain  would  I  come  to  you,  and 
embrace  you  once  more  before  we  leave  this  world." 

It  seems  that  some  degree  of  coldness  existed  at  one  time  on 
the  part  of  Melancthon,  which  occasioned  an  interruption  to 
their  intercourse.  This  arose  from  Calvin's  expressing  himself 
with  too  much  severity,  and  accusing  Melancthon  on  account  of 
his  irresolution.  Melancthon  was  very  sensitive.  Calvin  wrote 
to  him,  saying,  that  "their  union,  which  arose  from  a  correspond 
ing  feeling  of  piety,  must  remain  forever  and  the  same,  and  this 
because  the  interests  of  the  church  were  intimately  connected 
with  it." 

In  the  year  1554  especially,  Calvin  uttered  several  hard  ex- 
pressions against  Melancthon,  but  they  afterwards  became  more 
affectionately  united  than  ever.  Melancthon  wrote  to  him  the 
same  year,  to  assure  him  of  his  entire  agreement  with  him  in  the 
affair  of  Servetus.  And  subsequently,  after  the  death  of  Me- 
lancthon, when  Calvin,  in  the  midst  of  strife  and  peril,  still  sur- 
vived both  the  German  reformers,  and  stood  alone,  a  mark  for 
all  the  enemies  of  the  church  in  those  troublous  times,  he  ad- 
dresses him  in  words  full  of  mournful  tenderness.  The  expres- 
sions alluded  to  occur  in  one  of  his  writings,  in  which  he  gives 
loose  to  his  feelings  against  his  enemies,  who  left  him  so  little 
rest,  as  was  Melancthon's  case,  who  wished  himself  out  of  a 
world  in  which  there  was  so  much  theological  strife  and  so  little 
Christian  love.  The  passage  is  highly  deserving  of  attention. 
Calvin  speaks  with  the  tenderness  of  St.  Paul  when  yielding 
himself  to  the  emotions  of  his  heart: — "O  Philip  Melancthon, 
to  thee  I  address  myself,  to  thee  who  art  now  living  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  there  awaitest  us,  till  death 
shall  unite  us  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  divine  peace.  A  hun- 
dred times  hast  thou  said  to  me,  when,  weary  with  so  much 
labor  and  oppressed  with  so  many  burdens,  thou  laidst  thy 
head  upon  my  breast,  God  grant,  God  grant  that  I  may  now 
die !  But  I,  on  my  side,  have  also  a  thousand  times  wished 
that  we  had  the  happiness  to  live  together.  Our  converse  with 
each  other  would  have  certainly  rendered  thee  bolder  and  more 
resolute  in  the  struggle  against  wickedness  and  envy.  Thou 
wouldst  have  resisted  the  machinations  of  falsehood  with  more 
strength  and  determination.     Thus  the  malice  of  many  would 


240  CALVIN    AND    MML  A  NCT1ION.  [CHAP.  XVII. 

have  been  kept  within  narrower  limits, — tlie  malice,  that  is,  of 
those  who,  encouraged  by  your  great  benevolence,  which  they 
called  weakness,  took  occasion  therefrom  to  triumph  proudly  in 
their  guili." 

Calvin's  profound  regard  for  Melancthon  shows  itself  also  in 
the  dedication  to  his  Commentary  on  Daniel,  in  which  lie  de- 
scribes him  "  as  a  man  who,  on  account  of  his  incomparable 
skill  in  the  most  excellent  branches  of  knowledge,  his  piety,  and 
his  other  virtues,  was  worthy  the  admiration  of  all  ages."*  He 
says  in  the  letter  from  which  we  have  quoted,  "I  know  that  I  am 
far  below  you ;  but  it  is  also  true,  that  on  whatever  part  of  the 
stage  God  has  placed  me,  our  friendship  cannot  be  destroyed  with- 
out great  injury  to  the  church.  But  to  consider  ourselves  only, 
learn  from  your  own  heart  how  bitter  it  must  be  to  me  to  find 
myself  separated  from  a  man  whom  I  love  and  esteem  above  all 
others,  and  whom  God  has  not  only  nobly  enriched  with  extraor- 
dinary gifts,  to  render  him  conspicuous  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
church,  but  has  made  him  his  chief  servant,  and  appointed  him 
to  conduct  the  most  important  affairs." 

The  noble  and  elevated  character  of  this  friendship  is  shown 
still  more  by  the  fact,  that  Calvin  himself  procured  the  publication 
of  Melancthon's  Loci  in  French,  and  wrote  a  preface  to  it  in  1516, 
and  edited  it  again  in  1551,  although  this  was  the  only  work  likely 
to  throw  his  own  chief  production  into  the  shade,  his  views  also 
not  altogether  harmonizing  with  those  of  Melancthon  on  the 
subject  of  election.  So  little  ambition  was  there,  so  little  desire 
of  fame,  or  selfishness,  in  the  heart  of  these  remarkable  men,  who 
desired  nothing  so  much  as  the  salvation  of  the  world.  Calvin 
wished  France  to  learn  to  love  Melancthon  as  he  loved  him,  and 
to  be  converted  to  the  Lord  through  his  work.  Here  also  might 
we  again  say  with  Scaliger,  "I  leave  it  to  you  to  judge,  whether 
the  man  was  great."  How  much  envy  this  friendship  with  Me- 
lancthon excited  against  him.  appears  from  a  letter  of  Calvin  to 
Farel,  who  had  again  been  guilty  of  some  indiscretion.  "I  was 
surprised  that  Sulzer  should  say  in  his  letter,  that  Melancthon's 
judgment  is  everything  to  me.  1  cannot  guess  whence  he  has 
learnt  anything  of  this  kind,  for  I  have  so  earnestly  entreated  you 
not  to  let  a  word  escape  you  on  the  subject.  It  might  be  supposed 
that  I  was  emulous  of  honor.  But  even  this  I  leave  to  the  Lord's 
ordering." 

*  Op.  724 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

calvin's  poetry. — a  letter  of  condolence  addressed  to 

a  father. 

The  erudite  Calvin,  while  at  Worms,  composed  a  triumphal 
song  (Epinicion),  with  which  he  greeted  the  new  year,  in  the 
city  where  Luther  had  conquered  at  an  earlier  period.  This  little 
poem  contains  some  fine  hexameters,  and  describes  the  victory  of 
Christ  over  the  pope,  who 

"  Digiti  signo  spatiorum  concutit  orbem, 
Nee  minus  est  hodie  quam  fuit  ante  ferox." 

Christ  conquers  without  weapons :  Ecce !  quiescendo  stemit, 
funditque  silendo.  In  the  conclusion  the  Redeemer  is  intro- 
duced triumphing,  and  Eccius  and  Cochleeus  are  led  among 
polemics  of  their  class,  bound  and  humbled  behind  his  chariot. 

This  poem  would  never  have  been  heard  of,  for  it  lay  buried 
and  forgotten  among  the  author's  papers,  had  not  the  catholics  of 
Tholouse  inserted  it  in  the  list  of  forbidden  books.  So  many 
inquiries  were  then  made  after  this  production,  that  Calvin,  to 
satisfy  public  curiosity,  allowed  it  to  be  printed.  Here  again 
we  see  the  man  of  learning  solacing  himself  in  his  hours  of  quiet 
with  Latin  verse ;  and  the  very  contrast  of  Luther,  the  man  of 
the  people,  who  poured  out  his  whole  soul  in  a  bold  song,  which 
he  addressed  to  God  as  he  went  to  meet  his  enemies,  uncertain 
whether  he  should  not  share  the  fate  of  Huss.  "A  tower  of" 
strength  is  God  our  Lord."  "  Take  from  us  body,  goods,  hon- 
or, children  and  wife  ;  let  them  all  go — the  kingdom  of  God 
must  still  be  ours."  There  are  but  few  words  in  the  song,  but 
it  has  been  sung  for  centuries,  and  will  continue  to  be  so,  for  it 
was  dictated  by  the  power  of  God.  No  other  poetical  compost 
tion  but  that  here  mentioned  is  found  in  the  works  of  Calvim 
The  psalms  were  not  translated  by  him.  He  had  not  the  chiv- 
alrous feeling,  the  musical  and  poetical  sense  and  spirit,  which 
rendered  Luther  so  worthy  of  love  and  admiration.* 

During   the   period    above    described    a    pestilential    sickness 

*  A  letter  was  written  by  Luther  at  this  time,  descriptive  of  his  feelings,  and  full 
of  energetic  sentiment.     De  Wette,  v.  34  ] . 

VOL     I. 10. 


242  LETTER    OF    CONDOLENCE.  [CHAP.  XVIII. 

raged  in  Strasburg,  and  carried  off  many  of  the  inhabitants.  A 
young  man,  named  Louis  Richeburg,  died  of  this  disorder  in 
Calvin's  absence :  he  appears  to  have  been  much  beloved  by 
him.  An  older  friend,  probably  his  instructor  Claude,  was  also 
carried  off.  Calvin's  wife  was  obliged  to  leave  the  city.  He 
writes:  "She  flits  day  and  night  before  my  eyes,  being  as  she 
is  alone  and  comfortless,  and  without  support."*  Of  Claude  he 
writes  : — 

"  I  cannot  describe  what  grief  I  feel  on  account  of  my  Claude. 
A  true  friend  has  been  so  necessary  to  me  during  the  last  two 
years, — one  who  might  support  me  in  all  these  various  sufferings 
and  anxieties.  Claude  always  acted,  not  only  in  the  truest  but 
in  the  most  friendly  manner,  so  that  I  regarded  him  altogether 
as  a  brother.  When  I  set  out  on  my  journey,  my  mind,  as  you 
know,  filled  with  doubts,  he  solemnly  promised  to  go  whitherso- 
ever I  might  direct  him,  and  that  he  would  never  fail  me.  When 
I  think  how  very  necessary  a  faithful  adviser,  one  never  absent 
from  my  side,  is  to  me,  and  how  rare  such  an  example  of  love 
and  faithfulness  is,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  Lord  has  in- 
tended by  the  loss  which  I  have  now  suffered  to  punish  me 
severely  for  my  sins."t 

Calvin  wrote  a  letter  of  condolence  to  Richeburg's  father.  It 
is  conceived  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  and  is  far  superior  in 
pathos  to  any  similar  composition  by  Luther.  As  such,  it  may 
be  recommended  to  all  parents  in  similar  circumstances.  It 
seems  to  have  been  sent  from  Ratisbone.t 

"  When  I  received  the  first  news  of  the  death  of  Claude  and 
of  your  son,  I  was  so  troubled  that  for  several  days  I  could  do 
nothing  but  sigh.  And  though  I  was  able  to  support  myself 
before  God  by  those  helps  with  which  he  arms  us  in  times  of 
distress,  I  was  utterly  prostrate  in  the  sight  of  the  world,  as  in- 
capable of  attending  to  my  several  duties  as  a  man  half-dead. 
On  the  one  side  I  bewailed  a  true  and  affectionate  friend,  torn 
from  me  at  a  time  when  I  most  needed  him,  and  with  whom  I 
was  so  united,  that  a  stricter  friendship  cannot  be  imagined 
than  that  existing  between  us.  Then,  again,  the  other  afflic- 
tion;  to  see  your  son,  who  gave  such  bright  hopes  in  the  first 

*  "  Quoniam  capite  suo  caret." 

f  The  plague  in  1541  carried  off  several  distinguished  men;  among  others, 
S.  Grynaeus  in  Basel,  and  Andreas  Carlstadt  in  Strasburg.  W.  Zwingli,  the 
eon  of  the  reformer,  Eusebius  Gicolampadius,  Capito  and  Zwick,  died  not  long 
after. 

X  Ep.  19  of  the  year  1540  or  1541. 


A.D.  1541.]  LETTER    OF    CONDOLENCE.  243 

bloom  of  his  years,  snatched  away,  and  whom  I  loved  as  a  son, 
he  loving  me  not  less  than  a  second  father.  This  most  severe 
distress  was  increased  through  the  painful,  oppressive  anxiety 
felt  for  those  whom  God  has  left  behind.  I  heard  that  the 
family  was  everywhere  dispersed.  The  danger  of  Malherbe 
troubled  me  on  his  own  account,  and  proved  to  me  the  peril  in 
which  the  others  were.  I  thought  how  cast  down  my  own  wife 
must  be.  Your  Charles  was  always  before  my  eyes  ;  since  with 
his  good  heart,  and  not  only  loving  as  he  did  his  teacher  and 
brother,  but  depending  upon  them  as  a  child,  he  must  have 
been  sunk  in  the  deepest  sorrow.  There  was  one  comfort  to  me, 
the  thought  that  he  had  my  brother  there  to  console  him  in  this 
affliction. 

"I  could  not  however  even  think  of  this  without  feeling  that 
both  were  still  in  much  peril.  Till  the  letters  came,  which  as- 
sured me  that  Malherbe  was  out  of  danger,  that  Charles,  my 
brother,  and  my  wife  were  safe,  I  should  have  been  overwhelmed 
with  anguish,  had  I  not  cast  myself  upon  the  mercy  of  God, 
and  sought  support  in  prayer  and  holy  meditation.  I  tell  you 
this,  that  you  may  not  suppose,  when  I  offer  you  consolation, 
that  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  prove  oneself  firm  in  the  sufferings 
of  others.  1  will  not  waste  strong  expressions  on  a  sorrow 
which  is  strange  to  me,  but  show  through  what  means  I  have 
found  solace ;  nor  will  I  bring  forward  the  customary  topics,  so 
current  in  the  world,  that  you  should  not  weep  for  the  dead, 
who  were  born  to  die,  that  you  should  exhibit  in  this  trial  that 
greatness  of  soul  which  may  be  looked  for  from  your  character, 
your  noble  talents,  great  learning,  age,  experience,  and  calling, 
and  so  find  consolation  in  the  remembrance  of  your  earlier  life. 
All  this  I  leave.  There  is  only  one  mighty  and  secure  fountain 
of  consolation  on  which  men  like  you  can  depend,  and  which 
flows  from  the  inward  devout  sentiment  so  powerful  in  your 
heart. 

"  God  has  recalled  the  son  whom  he  only  lent  you  as  a  pledge. 
There  is  here  no  room  for  the  vain  complaints  of  the  foolish,  O 
blind  death  !  sad  fate  !  inexorable  destiny  !  God,  who  placed 
him  here  for  a  definite  period,  has  recalled  him.  What  God 
has  done  has  not  happened  by  chance,  or  without  cause,  but 
according  to  that  counsel  which  cannot  be  other  than  good  and 
right,  and  which  will  effect  nothing  but  what  is  useful  and  salu- 
tary to  us.  Where  righteousness  and  goodness  operate,  man 
must  not  oppose ;  but  where  our  advantage  is  also  united  with 


244  LETTER    OF    CONDOLENCE.  [CHAP.    XVIII. 

this  righteousness,  can  there  be  greater  ingratitude  than  not  to 
accept  that  with  quiet  and  humble  feeling  which  it  pleases  our 
Father  to  ordain?  Nothing  is  more  distressing  than  when  a 
man  troubles  himself  with  the  questions,  'Why  have  we  not 
acted  differently?  Why  have  we  not  gone  elsewhere?"  This 
would  be  right  enough,  if  we  had  done  something  worthy  of 
punishment.  But  if  we  cannot  charge  ourselves  with  guilt, 
these  complaints  are  unreasonable.  It  is  God  himself  who  has 
taken  thy  son  from  thee  :  He  who  gave  him  to  thee  only  under 
the  condition,  that  thou  instructing  him  here  below,  he  should 
yet  always  belong  to  him.  Therefore  he  has  taken  him  out  of 
the  world,  because  it  was  useful  to  him  to  be  removed,  and  pro- 
fitable for  thee,  thou  being  purified  and  thy  patience  proved  by 
this  loss.  If  thou  seest  not  this  its  usefulness,  pray  God,  above 
all  things,  to  show  it  unto  thee.  If  it  be  his  will  to  prove  thee 
further,  whilst  He  hides  it  from  thee,  let  his  wisdom  stand 
higher  than  the  weakness  of  thy  spirit.  With  regard  to  thy 
son,  if  thou  weighest  the  matter  in  thy  soul,  thou  wilt  see  how 
difficult  it  is,  in  this  most  melancholy  period,  to  go  the  right 
way,  and  will  account  him  happy,  being  so  early  delivered,  and 
before  he  was  overpowered  by  the  dangers  which  threatened 
him.  He  is  as  one  who,  having  set  sail  upon  the  stormy  ocean, 
is  summoned  back  into  port  before  he  reached  the  open  sea. 
In  this  respect  a  long  life  is  not  a  benefit,  but  rather  a  loss, 
when,  separated  by  a  narrow  path  of  years,  we  might,  were  they 
passed,  enter  into  a  better  existence.  God  himself,  the  Father 
of  us  all,  had  already  willed  that  Louis  should  pertain  to  his 
elect  children.  According  to  his  boundless  mercy  He  has  made 
thee  a  partaker  of  his  grace,  that  thou  mightest  see  before  his 
death  the  glorious  fruit  of  the  care  which  thou  didst  bestow 
upon  thy  son,  and  so  learn  that  that  blessing,  'I  will  be  thy 
God,  and  the  God  of  thy  children,'  belongs  also  to  thee.  He  was 
instructed  in  the  best  manner,  from  his  earliest  childhood,  as  far 
as  his  years  allowed,  and  had  already  made  such  progress  that 
he  awakened  in  us  the  fairest  hopes  of  the  future.  His  life  and 
manners  had  deserved  the  praise  of  all  good  men.  If  he  com- 
mitted a  fault,  he  readily  listened  to  admonition  and  rebuke, 
and  proved  himself  obedient  to  the  instruction  received.  Was 
his  temper  occasionally  rather  haughty,  yet  it  never  approached 
to  obstinacy,  and  the  feeling  of  excitement  was  soon  subdued. 
That  however  which  most  delights  us  is,  that  he  so  imbibed  the 
principles  of  piety,  that  he  had  a  real  knowledge  of  religion,  and 


A.D.  1541.]  LETTER    OF    CONDOLENCE.  245 

was  impressed  with  the  true  fear  of  God.  This  great  goodness 
of  God  towards  thy  son  must  serve  rather  to  soften  the  pain  of 
thy  loss,  than  to  make  his  death  more  distressing. 

"  These  holy  souls  (Claude  and  Louis)  have  passed  away, 
amid  pious  meditations  and  prayers,  to  communion  with  Christ. 
I  should  not  wish  to  be  free  from  my  present  sorrow  on  the 
condition  of  not  having  known  them.  It  will  supply  me  with 
holy,  and  I  believe  comforting,  recollections  to  the  end  of  my 
days.  But  thou  wilt  say,  what  matters  it  that  I  had  a  son  who 
gave  me  such  fair  hopes,  now  that  he  is  taken  from  me  in  the 
flower  of  his  age?  As  if  Christ  himself  had  not  gained  this  by 
his  own  death,  that  he  should  be  the  Lord  of  the  quick  and  the 
dead.  If  we  pertain  to  him,  as  needs  must  be,  how  can  He 
fail  to  have  over  us  the  power  of  life  and  death ?  Though  thy 
son,  according  to  thy  notion  and  mine,  has  had  a  short  life,  yet 
it  must  be  enough  for  us  that  he  has  finished  the  course  ap- 
pointed him  by  the  Lord.  Let  us  not  suppose,  therefore,  that 
he  died  in  the  flower  of  his  age,  when,  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
he  was  as  a  ripe  fruit.  I  believe  that  all  those  have  attained  to 
ripeness  here,  whom  the  Lord  has  seen  fit  to  take  away. 

"  Or  wilt  thou  dispute  with  God,  as  if  he  tore  any  one  away 
before  his  time?  This  reasoning  avails  for  all,  but  especially 
for  Louis.  He  was  already  of  an  age  at  which  he  could  prove, 
by  indisputable  signs,  that  he  was  a  member  of  Christ.  As  soon 
as  he  bore  this  fruit  he  died,  and  was  snatched  from  our  eyes. 
From  the  confused,  uncertain  shadows  of  life,  he  has  been  ad- 
mitted into  immortality,  and  far  be  it  from  thee  to  account  those 
lost  whom  thou  wilt  meet  again  at  the  blessed  resurrection  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  for  they  both  so  lived  and  so  died  that  I  am 
sure  they  are  with  God. 

"  Let  us  therefore  hasten  to  reach  the  same  goal  which  they 
have  reached.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Christ  will  then  unite 
them  and  us  in  an  inseparable  communion,  in  the  incomparable 
participation  of  his  glory.  Nor  is  the  consolation  less  which 
thou  mayst  derive  from  the  reflection  of  what  still  remains  to 
thee.  Thy  Charles  is  still  left  thee,  a  youth  whom  we  all  so 
esteem,  that  there  is  not  one  of  us  who  would  not  wish  for 
such  a  son.  But,  thou  wilt  say,  it  is  difficult  so  to  suppress  a 
father's  affections  as  not  to  feel  pain  at  the  death  of  a  son.  Nor 
have  I  wished  thee  not  to  grieve.  We  do  not  learn  a  philosophy 
in  the  school  of  Christ  which  would  have  us  suppress  all  those 
feelings  which  God  has  given  us,  and  turn  men  into  stones.     All 


246  STATE    OF    THINGS    AT    GENEVA.  [CHAP.  XIX. 

which  we  have  said  is  only  to  this  end,  to  persuade  thee  to  set  a 
term  to  thy  grief,  and  to  assuage  it ;  that  when  thou  pourest 
out  thy  heart  in  tears,  as  nature  and  fatherly  love  dictate,  thou 
mayst  not  altogether  resign  thyself  to  grief.  But  I  do  not  wish 
to  speak  as  if  I  mistrusted  thy  good  understanding,  thy  strength 
and  greatness  of  soul :  I  have  only  wished  not  to  be  backward 
in  my  duty  towards  thee.  If  this  letter  be  superfluous,  as  I  be- 
lieve it  to  be,  thou  wilt  still  accept  this,  perhaps  too  anxious,  proof 
of  affection  with  thy  great  and  accustomed  friendship.  J  have 
prayed  Philip  and  Bucer  to  write  to  thee,  hoping  that  such  a 
mark  of  their  love  may  not  be  disagreeable  to  thee." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


calvins     return     to     geneva. applications     made    to 

strasburg. farel's  severe  language  on  the  subject. 

— calvin's    personal    dread  of  the  change.— calvin's 
inner  life   at   this  period. 

At  the  time  when  Calvin  was  on  his  way  to  the  diet  at  Worms, 
with  Bucer,  Capito,  and  Sturm  for  his  companions,  the  people 
of  Geneva  were  anxiously  wishing  for  his  return  to  their  city.* 
Beza  relates  that,  ':  the  Lord  having  pity  on  the  place,  visited 
it  with  his  judgments,  and  openly  punished  those  who  were 
the  cause  of  Farel's  and  Calvin's  expulsion.  One  of  the  syndics 
was  found  guilty  of  promoting  an  insurrection,  and  endeavor- 
ing to  escape  through  a  window  fell  and  broke  his  neck.  An- 
other was  accused  of  murder,  and  beheaded.  Two  others,  guilty 
of  treason,  and  obliged  to  flee,  were  condemned  in  their  absence, 
and  described  by  the  magistrate,  in  his  letter  to  the  preachers,  as 
disturbers  of  the  people. t 

When  these  men  no  longer  remained  to  hinder  it,  Geneva 
earnestly  desired  the  return  of  Calvin  and  Farel.  Neufchatel 
resolutely  refused  to  give  up  Farel.     The  magistrate  of  Geneva 

*  Fr.  Biogr.  Extraits  des  Registr.  le  '20  Oct.  1540.  "Pour  1'aug mentation  et 
r&vanci'ineiit  <le  la  1'arole  <1«-  Dim.  a  este  onlonne  dVnvoyer  querir  ea  Strasbourg 
Maistre  Jofaannee  CaAvious,  Leqnsl  est  bien  savant,  pour  estro  nostre  6rangoliq9€  en 
pette  villc." 

f   Epist.  MSS.  ad  Tigurinoti  Pastorea. 


A.D.  1541.]  EFFORTS    OF    THE    GENEVESE.  247 

had  entreated  him  to  visit  Strasburg,  and  use  his  influence  with 
Calvin  to  induce  him  to  return.  Anxious  for  the  church  of  Gen- 
eva, he  furnished  him  with  every  means  fitted  to  secure  the  suc- 
cess of  his  journey,  and  gave  the  messenger  a  pressing  letter  also, 
which  he  had  written  to  Calvin  himself. 

Nor  did  the  council  fail  to  write  to  Calvin,  who  immediately 
showed  their  letter  to  Bucer  and  his  other  friends  at  Strashurg. 
These  answered  the  Genevese,  "  We  congratulate  you,  that  so 
good  a  spirit  has  urged  you  to  think  of  this  your  true  pastor, 
and  to  ask  for  his  instruction.  For  Christ  himself  is  despised 
and  mocked  when  such  worthy  ministers  are  rejected  and  con- 
temptuously treated.  Your  state  therefore  betokens  prosperity, 
when  you  own  Christ  in  this  his  excellent  instrument.  Certain 
it  is,  that  the  soul  of  this  good  man  has  always  been  occupied 
with  one  thought,  with  anxiety  for  your  salvation,  and  then  even 
when  it  cost  him  the  severest  struggles,  and  might  have  required 
his  blood.  What  he  will  now  do,  he  knows  as  little  as  we,  with- 
out whose  advice  he  has  hitherto  undertaken  nothing  of  impor- 
tance, even  when  there  was  no  necessity  to  ask  it.  To-morrow 
or  the  next  day  he  will  travel  with  us  to  Worms,  to  be  present  at 
the  conference  on  the  affairs  of  religion,  which  the  emperor  and 
king  Ferdinand  have  appointed  with  the  German  princes,  to 
discover  some  means  for  establishing  union.  And  such  is  the 
present  state  of  affairs,  that  if  no  way  to  peace  is  found  through 
this  conference,  we  must  expect  a  great  convulsion  in  Germany. 
But  if  religion  receives  any  great  shock  in  Germany,  there  is  rea- 
son to  fear  it  will  suffer  elsewhere  as  well.  It  would  not  be  wise 
therefore,  we  think,  for  Calvin  to  resist  the  call  with  which  the 
Lord  has  summoned  him  to  this  conference.  We  hope  you 
will  agree  with  us  in  this."  They  advised  them  in  the  mean 
time  to  call  Farel  and  Viret  to  Geneva.  The  city  of  Geneva 
stood  high  in  their  estimation,  for  the  Gospel  might  be  thence  dif- 
fused through  France  and  Italy.  They  also  exhorted  the  Gen- 
evese to  make  their  peace  with  Bern.  "  Love  is  the  duty  and  the 
ensign  of  Christians."* 

The  Genevese  made  a  new  experiment,  but  the  people  of  Stras- 
burg suj-ve  to  retain  Calvin  through  the  influence  of  Bucer, 
Capito  and  Sturm.  Sturm  relates  the  circumstance  in  his  An- 
tipappus,    iv.    p.    21.      "  While    these    things  were  going    on  at 

*  Therefore  with  the  "  clarissimis  dominis  Bernatibus  ;  quicquid,  ut  tam  necessaria 
Concordia  nobis  conservetur,  dissimulandum,  ferendum,  concedendum  sit,  salvo  tamen 
regno  Christi." 


248  LETTERS    OF    BULLINGER    AND    FAREL.       [CHAP.  XIX. 

Worms,  letters  arrived  from  the  magistrate  of  Strasburg  to  the  dep- 
uties Jacob  Sturm  and  Matthias  Pharrerus,  which  stated  that 
Calvin's  return  was  greatly  desired  by  the  Genevese.  The  depu- 
ties therefore  were  requested  to  consider  how  he  might  best  be 
persuaded  by  Bucer,  Capito  and  myself  (Joh.  Sturm)  to  remain 
among  us.  The  magistrate  would  not  grant  the  Genevese  their 
desire  ;  but  the  latter  were  not  to  be  deterred  from  pursuing  their 
object ;  and  the  Bernese,  the  brethren  of  Basel,  and  especially 
those  of  Zurich,  were  entreated  to  employ  their  influence  on  their 
behalf."  Their  pressing  letter  to  Zurich  still  exists  in  the  Geneva 
manuscripts.  They  say  in  this  epistle,  "  that  the  people  of  Stras- 
burg  might  be  well  aware  that  the  ruin  or  preservation  of  the 
church  of  the  Genevese  would  be  the  ruin  or  salvation  of  that  of 
Strasburg.  They  besought  them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  re- 
store them  their  preachers ;  the  magistrate  and  the  whole  of  the 
people  asked  this  favor  of  them  ;  they  trusted  their  salvation,  as 
it  were,  to  their  hands."  The  composition  is  altogether  excellent 
and  edifying,  and  proves  the  earnest  desire  of  its  authors  to  secure 
Calvin's  return. 

On  the  first  of  May,  1541,  the  decree  of  banishment  was  re- 
versed. Ami  Perrini,  a  former  syndic,  and  now  a  Genevese  dep- 
uty, travelled  from  Strasburg  to  Worms,  and  showed  the  Stras- 
burg theologians  how  good  an  opportunity  they  now  had  for  dif- 
fusing the  Gospel  in  France.  The  divines  of  Strasburg,  espe- 
cially Bucer,  were  won  by  these  suggestions.  In  his  desire  to 
overcome  Calvin's  doubts,  the  latter  even  urged  him  to  consider 
the  example  of  Jonas. 

Calvin  had  already  sent  a  friendly  answer  from  Worms,  No- 
vember 12,  to  the  letter  of  the  Genevese  senate,  dated  October  22, 
1540:  "  Where  there,"  he  says,  "  nothing  but  your  kindness  and 
affection  to  influence  me,  I  could  not  feel  otherwise  than  I  do. 
But  there  is  still  another  reason.  It  is  the  singular  love  which  I 
cherish  for  your  church,  always  bearing  in  mind  that  it  was  com- 
mended to  me,  and  as  it  wrere  committed  to  my  charge,  by  God, 
and  that  it  has  therefore  ever  been  my  duty  to  labor  for  its  good 
and  its  salvation."* 

Bullinger  also  wrote  a  very  urgent  letter  to  the  people  if  Stras- 
burg. Farel  still  further  animated  them.  At  last,  when  the 
Genevese  pressed  their  petition  for  the  third  time,  and  Zurich 
Basel  and  Bern  addressed  themselves  to  Strasburg  and  Calvin. 
Farel  and  Viret,  not  failing  to  urge  him  on  the  side  of  duty. 
*  MSS.  Arch.  Eccles.  Bern.  17. 


A.D.  1541.]  CALVIN    TO    FAREL.  249 

Strasburg  gave  its  tardy  consent.  Viret  had  already  been  six 
months  at  Geneva,  and  Calvin  hoped  to  be  able  to  retain  him 
there.  A  famous  knight,  John  Bock  by  name,  was  at  this  time 
living  in  Strasburg.  Sturm  praises  him  as  a  noble  and  well- 
read  man.  The  clergy  of  Zurich  left  nothing  undone  to  obtain 
his  assistance  in  their  efforts  with  Calvin.  He  rendered  it  of  his 
own  accord. 

Some  passages  in  Calvin's  letters,  written  at  this  period,  show 
what  a  conflict  was  going  on  in  his  soul,  and  in  what  light  he 
considered  his  recall  to  Geneva.  Thus  to  Viret  he  writes,  "I 
could  not  read  one  part  of  your  letter  without  laughing.  It  is 
that  in  which  you  exhibit  so  much  care  for  my  prosperity. 
Shall  I  go  then  to  Geneva  to  secure  my  peace?  Why  not  rather 
submit  to  be  crucified  ?  It  would  be  better  to  perish  at  once, 
than  to  be  tormented  to  death  in  that  chamber  of  torture.  If 
you  indeed  wish  my  welfare,  dear  Viret,  pray  cease  from  such 
advice  as  this."  He  expressed  his  pleasure,  however,  at  finding 
that  his  friends  took  so  much  interest  in  his  happiness.  "  I  can 
hardly  believe  myself  worthy  of  so  much  consideration,  and  yet 
I  cannot  help  rejoicing  that  so  many  good  people  are  concerned 
for  my  welfare." 

To  Farel  he  writes  :  "  In  order  to  fulfil,  in  some  measure,  my 
promise,  to  let  you  have  a  particular  account  of  all  which  has 
lately  happened,  I  have  devoted  this  whole  day  to  you.  You 
would  therefore  have  received  well-filled  and  weighty  letters,  had 
not  some  unexpected  business  called  me  off.  Of  the  affair  of 
the  Genevese  we  will  speak  together  when  you  are  here.  The 
news  that  a  kind  of  peace  is  established  there,  has  certainly  de- 
lighted me  in  the  highest  degree.  I  should  only  wTish  that  they 
had  united  themselves  with  the  Lord ;  for,  as  you  say,  while  the 
Lord  is  not  our  bond  of  union,  the  union  is  accursed.  I  dare 
not  yet  pass  any  judgment  on  the  Genevese  ministers  :  they 
are  much  wanting  however  in  some  things  ;  for  you  greatly 
err,  if  you  take  it  for  a  sign  of  good  feeling,  that  my  answer  to 
Sadolet's  writing  was  well  received.  Suppose  now  that  the 
news  which  others  bring  me  is  well-founded,  namely,  that  they 
opposed  themselves  as  much  as  they  could,  but  that  the  council 
allowed  the  printing  of  the  answer  in  spite  of  their  opposition. 
This  however  gives  me  very  little  trouble  :  let  them  only  so  de- 
vote themselves  to  the  performance  of  their  duty,  that  they  may 
anticipate  me  and  others,  and  take  from  us  all  occasion  for  labor. 
It   disturbs   me  little   through  whom  the  work  of  the  Lord  is 


250  calvin's  own  difficulties.  [chap.  xix. 

done,  if  it  do  but  go  prosperously  forward.  They  assuredly  err, 
however,  if  they  trust  to  accomplish  it  without  help ;  for  they 
will  scarcely  get  half  through  it,  even  with  the  assistance  of 
others.  I  have  always  told  you  that  the  bare  mention  of  my 
return  terrifies  me.  and  this  I  have  said  on  more  than  one  ground. 
It  terrifies  me  not  only  because  they  obstinately  rejected  you, 
which  I  confess  was  (he  most  painful  of  all  to  me  ;  but  there  are 

many  other  things Indeed   the  further  I  go,  the  more 

plainly  I  see  out  of  what  an  abyss  the  Lord  has  delivered  me.;' 

We  subjoin  a  view  of  Calvin's  inward  life  ;   his  continued  doubts 
and  anxieties. 


Rich   in   instruction  is  the  life  of  such  a  man  as  Calvin,  and 
edifying  is  the  view  of  the  struggles  endured  by  a  righteous  soul 
like    his.      The    calls    from    Geneva    were    very    urgent.     Jacob 
Bernhard,  one  of  the  preachers  there,  wrote,  February  1,  1541, 
that  all   the  other  ministers   had   left  the  city,  and  that  he  and 
Henry  alone  remained  ;  so  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  restrain 
himself  from  exhorting   the  weeping   people  to  turn  in  humble 
prayer  to  God  the  Lord,  and  to  ask  of  Him,  through  Christ  the 
chief  shepherd,  a  shepherd  who  might  be  able  again  to  help  the 
church.     "And  not  to  lie,"  he    continues,  "1  did  not  think  of 
you,  or  hope  that  you  might  be  this  shepherd.     The  people  did 
what  I   told   them  with  the   greatest   devotion.     Two    hundred 
were  assembled  the  other  day,  and  all  long  for  Calvin's  return. 
The  great  council  was  summoned  on  the  following  da}r,  and  every 
voice  was  raised  in  favor  of  Calvin.     '  Calvin,'  they  exclaimed, 
c  that  righteous  and  learned  man,  it  is  he  whom  we  would  have 
as  the  minister  of  the  Lord.'     When  I  saw  this,  I  could  not  but 
praise   God,  and   acknowledge  that  it  was  from   Him  that  the 
stone  which  the   builders    rejected  was  chosen   to  be  the  corner- 
stone.    Come,  therefore,  thou  worthy  father  in  Christ;   thou  art 
ours :  God   has  given  thee  to  us  :    all  sigh  for  thee  :    thou  wilt 
see  how  pleasant  thine  arrival  will  be  to  all.     Delay  not  to  come, 
and  see  Geneva, — a  new  people,  renewed  through  God's  grace, — 
Viret's  work.     God  grant  that  thou  delay  not  to  come.     Regard 
our  church  as  worthy  of  thy  help,  otherwise  will  God  the  Lord 
require  our  blood  at  thy  hands,  for  thou  must  be  the  watchman 
of  the  house  of  Israel  with  us." 

How  many  struggles  it  cost  Calvin  to  obey  the  voice  1     "It  is 
hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks,"  has  been  already  inti- 


a.d.  1541.]  calvin's  fears.  251 

mated.  This  state  of  conflict  and  uncertainty  evidently  shows, 
as  he  himself  says,  that  he  only  brought  himself  by  degrees  to 
that  greatness  of  spirit  which  was  exhibited  at  length  in  the  sur- 
passing power  of  the  will,  and  which  strikes  us  with  admiration 
to  the  last  day  of  his  life.  He  wrote  to  his  friend  Farel,  from 
whom  he  concealed  nothing,  in  October,  1540 : — 

"  You  know  that  I  have  been  so  agitated  this  day  by  disqui- 
etude and  anguish  of  soul,  that  I  have  not  been  half  master  of 
myself.     Why  I  do  not  wish  that  which  I  commit  to  your  faith- 
ful   bosom    to  be  spread  abroad,  you  will    easily  perceive.     As 
often  as  I  think  how  unhappy  I  was  at  Geneva,  I  tremble  in 
my  innermost  being  when  mention  is  made  of  my  return.     We 
must  say  nothing  of  the  anxiety  and  disquiet  by  which  we  were 
continually  agitated  when  we  worked   there  together.      I   know 
well,  that  whithersoever  I  go,  I  must  always  expect  to  meet  with 
suffering;  and  that  if  I  will  live  for  Christ,  life  must  be  a  con- 
flict.     But  when  I    think  to  what  tortures  my  conscience  was 
exposed,  to  what  agonies  I  was  subjected,  and    how  I  suffered 
the  loss  of  all  rest  and  quiet,  I  must  pray  you  to  forgive  me,  if  I 
dread  that  place  as  destructive  of  peace  and  safety.     You  are. 
next  to  God,  my  best  witness,  and  can  testify  that  I  have  been 
held  back  by  no  other  bond  than  this,  that  I  dare  not  cast  off 
the  yoke  of  the  calling  which  I  believed  to  come  from  God.     As 
long   therefore  as   I  felt  myself  bound  by  this  yoke,  I  preferred 
suffering  what  is  outward,  to  indulging  that  thought  of  change 
which  frequently  endeavored   to  insinuate  itself  into  my   mind. 
But  now  that  by  God's  grace  I  am  free,  who  can  blame  me  if  I 
do  not,  of  my  own  accord,  cast  myself  again  into  the  whirlpool 
in  which  I  suffered  such  evils?     I  have  even  forgotten  the  art 
of  managing  large  masses  of  people.     It  is  but  a  small  number 
with  whom  I  have  to  do  in  this  place ;  the  greater  part  of  them 
esteem  me  as  their  preacher  and  instructor ;  and    if  even  this 
smaller  charge  be  difficult  to  me,  how  much  more  so  would  the 
greater  be.      These  however  are  not  the   hindrances   which  pre- 
vent my  following  the  present  call ;  for  the  more   my  soul  holds 
back,  the  more  do  I  suspect  my  feelings.     Thus  do  I  not  allow 
myself  to  discuss  the  subject,  and  I  beseech  our  friends  not  to 
draw  m*e  into  any  argument  on  the  subject;  and  that  they  may 
consider  it  themselves   the  more  freely  and  confidently,   I   hide 
from   them   a  great  part  of  my  own  inward  sentiments.     1  sol- 
emnly declare,  however,  that  I  am   not  acting  deceitfully  towards 
God,  nor  seeking  a  pretence  to  escape  ;  and  as  I  desire  the  good 


252  CALVIN    TO    FAREL.  [CHAP.  XIX. 

of  the  church  of  Geneva,  I  am  ready  to  sacrifice  my  life  a  hun- 
dred times  rather  than  betray  it,  while  I  leave  it." 

In  a  letter  written  by  Calvin  from  Worms,  "  to  his  dear  broth- 
er, Nicola ua  Pareus,"*  he  says,  among  other  things,  after  ex- 
pressing his  joy  at  the  prosperous  state  of  the  church  at  Stras- 
burg  during  his  absence,  "May  God  so  manifest  his  grace  also 
towards  the  church  at  Geneva,  that  it  may  cease  to  disturb  me 
any  further.  This  afflicts  me  beyond  measure  that  while  1 
would  so  willingly  help  it,  I  know  no  means  of  doing  so.  I  en- 
deavor, however,  as  far  as  possible,  to  free  my  soul  from  this 
anxiety,  till  we  return  and  Farel  inform  us  how  affairs  at  present 
stand." 

In  a  letter  to  the  same,  December  14,  1540,  he  says,  "  With 
regard  to  the  call  to  Geneva,  my  soul  is  in  such  perplexity  and 
darkness,  that  I  scarcely  dare  venture  to  think  what  I  ought  to  do 
in  this  matter.  When  I  allow  myself,  as  I  often  do,  to  think  on 
the  subject,  I  can  find  no  outlet.  Involved  in  these  perplexities,  I 
have  reason  to  suspect  myself,  and  leave  it  therefore  to  others  to 
determine  for  me.  In  the  meanwhile  we  would  beseech  the  Lord 
God  to  show  us  the  right  way.  Farewell,  dear  brother  ;  greet  our 
friends  for  me  in  the  most  loving  manner." 

Farel  however  had  now  written  to  him,  and  aroused  his  con- 
science. We  learn  from  Calvin's  answer  how  Farel  stood  to  him, 
what  authority  he  had  gained  over  him  by  the  fervor  of  his  zeal, 
and  what  a  peculiar  reverence  Calvin  felt  for  his  judgment.  Fa- 
rel again  destined  him  to  labor  at  Geneva,  in  the  same  manner 
as  when  they  first  met  there,  for  he  felt  deeply  convinced  that 
Calvin  belonged  to  that  city. 

Calvin  writes  to  him:  "We  were  already  prepared  for  our 
journey  when  your  letters  arrived.  It  was  attended  with  so 
much  confusion  that  I  cannot  describe  it  to  you  in  words.  As 
I  could  not  answer  you  now,  I  have  stated  to  Claudius  and  my 
brother  separately  what  I  wish,  that  they  may  write  in  my 
name.  Being  quite  convinced  that  they  have  done  this,  I  will 
not  burden  you  with  useless  letters.  I  must  acknowledge  that 
the  thunder  and  lightning  which  you,  in  such  a  wonderful  man- 
ner, and  I  know  not  why,  hurlest  against  me,  have  greatly  moved 
and  terrified  me.  It  is  surely  known  to  you  that,  though  I 
should  fear  the  call,  I  do  not  flee  from  it.  Why  then  was  it 
necessary  to  assail  me  with  such  violence,  that  you  almost  belie 

*  Pareus  was  deacon  of  the  French  church  at  Strasburg,  and  Calvin's  substitute 
in  his  absence. 


A.D.  1541.]  CALVIN    TO    FAREL.  253 

your  friendship  ?  My  last  letter,  you  suppose,  cut  off  all  hope. 
If  this  was  indeed  the  case,  pardon,  I  pray  you,  my  inconsiderate- 
ness.  I  only  wish  to  excuse  myself,  since,  prevented  by  this  una- 
voidable journey,  I  could  not  come  immediately.  As  I  had  cer- 
tainly not  formed  the  plan  which  you  ascribe  to  me,  I  feel  sure  of 
your  forgiveness,  as  soon  as  you  have  better  considered  and  in- 
quired into  the  matter.  So  far  as  I  understand,  you  would  have 
wished  me  to  go  earlier  to  Geneva.  But  what  if  I  could  not  by 
any  means  do  this  ?  A  month  and  a  half  at  least  were  necessary, 
if  we  wished  to  remain  there  some  days  ;  and  this  we  must  have 
done,  unless  we  were  willing  to  be  laughed  at.  I  beg  you,  there- 
fore, to  set  bounds  and  limits  to  your  excessive  passion.  Allow 
even  that  I  had  been  able  to  make  the  journey,  would  it  have 
been  of  any  use  without  Bucer  ?  You  will  see  and  acknowledge, 
if  I  err  not,  that  you  are  carried  away  by  an  immoderate  desire  of 
speedy  proceedings." 

The  following  passages  of  the  same  date  will  serve  still  further 
to  give  us  his  true  likeness  at  this  decisive  moment. 

Calvin  to  Farel  :* — "  My  last  letters  show  plainly  enough  how 
melancholy  my  soul  was  at  that  time.  If  therefore  they  betray 
something  like  ill-humor,  forgive  my  unbelieving  anxiety,  which, 
as  usual,  renders  me  peevish  and  irritable.  Even  now,  though 
becoming  more  collected  by  degrees,  I  feel  but  little  ease.  Indeed, 
ashamed  as  one  is  to  acknowledge  it,  one  is  so  fond  of  sighs  and 
tears,  that  it  is,  in  a  certain  sense,  pleasant  not  to  be  altogether 
free  from  sorrow." 

Again  to  Farel  :t — "  The  Zurichers  have  again  petitioned  our 
friends  here  with  great  earnestness  not  to  hinder  my  departure. 
They  have  also  in  very  urgent  letters,  addressed  to  myself,  en- 
treated me  not  to  reject  this  call.  Our  friends  here  easily  under- 
stand that  this  is  done  through  you.  Discovering,  therefore,  as  I 
do  your  unceasing  activity  in  this  affair,  I  cannot  avoid  believ- 
ing that  you  are  suspicious  of  me  and  the  others,  which  is  not 
right.  In  order  to  overcome  this  suspicion,  I  wrote  at  once  to 
inform  you  that  I  have  been  sent  to  this  place  at  the  express 
desire  of  Philip.  I  might  have  refused  if  my  conscience  had 
suffered  it ;  for,  although  I  excused  myself  with  all  earnestness, 
I  would  not  go  to  extremities,  lest  I  might  have  the  appearance 
of  resisting  both  man  and  God.  Hither  therefore  have  I  been 
sent,  or  rather  driven.     I  am  now  as  it  were  fettered,  and  these 

*  MSS.  Gen.  Ratisbone,  April  24,  1541. 
t  MSS.  Gen.  Ratisbone,  May  4, 1541. 


254      CALVIN    AND    THE    DEPUTIES    FROM    GENEVA.     [cHAP.  XIX. 

fetters  I  cannot  for  the  time  shake  off,  however  greatly  I  may 
wish  it.  But  I  will  endeavor  to  loose  them  hy  degrees.  As  T  see 
that  even  haste  is  in  your  eyes  delay,  I  originally  formed  the  res- 
olution of  travelling  direct  to  Geneva.  Many  circumstances  how- 
ever require  me  to  go  home  first,  and  I  will  so  arrange  it  as  to 
reach  Strasburg  before  the  holidays.  I  will  preach  there  during 
the  fair,  and  then  quickly  take  my  flight.  You  cannot,  I  think 
require  more  of  me,  unless  perhaps  it  delights  you  to  vex  me  by 
complaints, — satisfied  if  you  do  not  kill  me  outright.  In  the 
mean  time  I  shall  endeavor  to  bear  it,  if  I  cannot  induce  you  to 
treat  me  with  a  little  more  fairness.  Still  I  would  fain  obtain  this 
from  you,  not  to  scourge  me  so  thoroughly,  except  when  I  deserve 
it.  Nothing  could  be  more  respectful  than  the  letter  from  Zurich, 
but  believe  me  it  was  altogether  superfluous.  Our  friends  here 
show,  in  a  variety  of  Ways,  that  they  are  no  less  anxiously  con- 
sidering how  to  retain  me  in  this  city." 

When  the  deputies  found  him  at  Worms,  he  could  not  sup- 
press his  feelings.  "  As  I  shed  more  tears  than  I  spake  words, 
they  entertained  no  doubt  of  my  sincerity.  I  was  twice  com- 
pelled to  silence  and  to  refrain  myself."  When  he  was  somewhat 
calmer  and  more  self-possessed,  he  wrote  to  Farel,  "  If  I  had  the 
choice,  I  would  do  everything  rather  than  what  you  wish,  Farel. 
But  as  I  am  not  left  to  my  own  choice,  I  bring  my  heart  as  a 
sacrifice  and  offering  unto  the  Lord.  I  have  always  adjured  our 
friends  to  forget  me,  and  to  keep  in  view  nothing  but  the  honor 
of  God  and  the  good  of  the  church.  There  were  not  wanting 
pretensions  to  which  I  might  have  had  recourse,  little  as  I  know 
how  to  invent  such  things.  But  I  know  that  in  this  matter  I 
have  to  do  with  God,  who  can  see  through  such  deceits.  I  there- 
fore submit  my  bound  and  subject  heart  to  the  duty  which  I  owe 
to  God  ;  and  if  I  be  deficient  in  counsel  myself,  I  yield  to  the 
guidance  of  those  through  whom  I  hope  God  himself  speaks 
with  me." 

Calvin  undertook  his  important  office  with  repugnance,  doing 
violence  to  his  feelings,  and  in  a  peculiar  sense  sacrificing  him- 
self: This  throws  new  light  upon  the  somewhat  rude  energy 
henceforth  apparent  in  his  character,  and  to  which  he  was  ori- 
ginally a  stranger.  He  seems  to  have  formed  the  determination 
to  raise  the  church  of  God,  in  spite  of  all  difficulties,  and  wilh 
power  and  iron  strength.  With  his  moral  energies,  his  zeal 
for  truth,  there  grew  a  fixed  hatred  against  the  falsehood,  dis- 
belief, cunning,  caprice,  and  levity,  wb'ch  he  found  at  Geneva. 


a.d.  1541.]  calvin's  return  to  geneva.  255 

He  required  a  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  others,  as  he  himself  had 
made  so  great  a  one.  Noble,  powerful,  and  simple  as  he  was,  he 
wished  others  to  be  the  same. 

It  appears  from  his  whole  conduct,  and  all  his  expressions  at 
this  period,  that,  far  from  supposing  he  could  obtain  any  general 
influence,  he  only  hoped,  feeling  his  weakness,  that  he  might  be- 
come a  faithful  preacher  and  professor  of  theology.  He  did  not 
sufficiently  trust  himself  to  suppose  that  he  could  keep  even  a 
small,  comparatively  insignificant  city  in  order.  In  one  of  his 
later  statements,  in  the  year  1557,  when  his  work  was  finished, 
he  says,  in  reference  to  this  period,  and  acknowledging  the  coun- 
sels of  God,  "  Afterwards,  when  God  had  compassion  on  the 
city,  and  had  appeased  the  unhappy  disturbances,  and  quieted, 
by  his  might,  the  confusion  and  sanguinary  plots  which  existed, 
I  was  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  resuming  my  early  position, 
however  against  my  will.  Although  the  safety  of  this  church 
was  so  near  my  heart,  that  I  would  willingly  have  given  my  life 
for  its  sake,  my  fears  suggested  so  many  excuses,  that  I  would 
fain  have  escaped  from  putting  my  shoulder  again  under  this 
burden.  At  last  the  feeling  of  duty  and  faith  prevailed,  so  that 
I  again  gave  myself  to  the  flock  from  which  I  had  been  torn. 
But  with  how  much  sorrow  !  with  how  many  tears  !  with  what 
anguish  !  God  is  the  best  judge  of  all  this  ;  and  many  were  the 
pious  people  who  would  gladly  have  seen  me  freed  from  this  pain, 
had  they  not  been  affected  by  fears  like  my  own." 

We  here  clearly  see  how  the  Holy  Spirit  worked  in  the  whole 
of  this  remarkable  history.  Calvin's  own  will  was  to  be  broken, 
but  the  haughty  levity  of  the  city  was  first  to  be  humbled  to 
the  dust,  and  the  people  were  to  be  obliged  to  seek  with  prayers 
and  tears  the  return  of  the  man  whom  they  had  expelled,  and 
whom  they  now  feared  every  moment  to  lose,  unless  they  ob- 
tained his  pardon.  It  is  in  this  manner  that  God  forms  the 
teacher  for  the  community,  and  the  community  for  the  teacher, 
when  something  great  is  intended. 

This  is  the  turning-point  and  grand  moment  in  the  history  of 
the  reformer.  Faith  and  his  own  will  were  here  insufficient. 
For  man  to  become  an  instrument  in  the  hand  of  God,  his  self- 
will  must  be  altogether  sacrificed  :  he  must  offer  him  his  bleeding 
heart.  With  such  a  preparation  we  may  worthily  assume  the 
character  of  a  reformer. 

The  13th  of  September  was  the  day  on  which  Calvin  returned 
to  his  distracted,  now  penitent,  congregation.     He  was  received 


256  calvin's  domestic  life.  [chap,  xx 

by  the  people  and  the  magistrate,  who,  to  do  him  honor,  had 
sent  forward  a  herald  to  meet  him,  with  every  demonstration  of 
affection  and  triumph.  "The  city  regarded  the  event  as  an  espe- 
cial instance  of  the  grace  of  God.  Calvin  had  intended  to  deliver 
a  speech  on  his  arrival,  to  prove  the  innocency  of  himself  and 
his  colleagues  ;  but  he  found  that  this  would  be  altogether  super- 
fluous, the  people  readily  confessing  that  they  themselves  were 
the  guilty  party.  Calvin  kept  silent  as  to  his  enemies,  although 
it  would  have  been  easy  for  him,  at  this  moment,  to  have  secured 
their  expulsion  from  the  city.  The  protocols  of  the  20th  of  Sep- 
tember state  that  Calvin  was  entreated,  in  the  most  earnest 
manner,  never  to  leave  Geneva.  It  is  added,  that  a  cloth  cloak 
was  given  him  as  a  present.* 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHARACTERISTICS      OF     CALVIN. — HIS      MARRIAGE. DOMESTIC 

LIFE. — POVERTY  AND  MODERATION. PECULIARITIES  OF  HIS 

MIND    AND    TEMPER. 

As  Calvin's  life  at  Strasburg  was,  as  it  were,  the  door  to  his 
subsequent  course  of  labor,  it  will  aid  our  design  if  we  now  ex- 
hibit a  somewdiat  more  exact  representation  of  the  man  whose 
actions  we  are  about  to  describe.  For  this  purpose  we  shall 
mention,  in  connection  with  his  domestic  life,  begun  at  Strasburg, 
several  particulars  affording  a  nearer  view  of  his  nature  and 
character.  As  his  faith  attained  maturity  at  an  earlier  period  of 
his  life,  so  we  may  now  observe  the  development  of  all  the  fun- 
damental principles  of  his  intellectual  constitution,  which  still 
continued  to  acquire  firmness,  energy  and  grandeur. 

Calvin's  life  has  been  rarely  understood,  because  it  exhibits 
almost  incomprehensible  extremes,  in  the  same  manner  as  his 
system,  which  appears  on  the  one  side  the  most  unpractical  of 
systems,  through  the  doctrine  of  election,  and  on  the  other  the 
most  practical,  through   the   sternness  of   its   morality.      These 

*  Strasburg  viekled  Calvin  with  difficulty.  It  confirmed  him' in  his  rank  as  citizen, 
allowed  him  u<  retain  his  office,  and  even  the  stipend.  But  the  latter,  according  to 
his  strict  principle;*,  he  refused  to  accept. 


a.d.  1541-60.]         calvin's  domestic  life.  257 

contrasts  in  his  life  are  partly  the  cause  why  he  had  such  bitter 
enemies  and  such  enthusiastic  friends ;  and  why  no  man  in  the 
world  has  been  so  variously  judged,  as  people  have  directed  their 
attention  to  the  one  or  the  other  extreme  of  his  character.  But 
this  renders  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  his  history  so  much 
the  more  interesting,  and  there  is  a  greater  charm  in  diligently 
separating  the  true  from  the  false.  They  only  can  know  this 
who  are  capable  of  feeling  that  the  sublimest  element  in  his  doc- 
trine, as  well  as  in  his  intellect,  was  the  deep  religious  feeling, 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  that  it  was  with  this,  and  not  from 
thought  or  speculation,  that  he  began  his  career.  The  main 
source  of  all  the  false  opinions  passed  upon  this  great  man  may 
be  traced  to  the  notion,  that  he  was  a  mere  dialectician,  pas- 
sionately engaged  in  unfolding  one  idea.  His  life  in  God,  his 
love  of  truth  and  purity  of  conscience  are  overlooked,  while  it 
was  these  alone  which  determined  his  conduct,  and  exercised  a 
commanding  influence  on  his  practice,  and  on  his  zeal  for  the 
unity  of  the  church. 

To  form  some  idea  of  Calvin's  domestic  life,  we  will  take  ad- 
vantage of  a  remark  made  by  Castalio  in  the  work  which  he 
wrote  in  his  own  defence.  Castalio  had  been  received  by  Cal- 
vin, at  Strasburg,  in  the  most  friendly  manner.  In  the  heat  of 
controversy,  the  reformer  accused  him  of  ingratitude  as  a  friend. 
Castalio  allowed  that  he  had  lived  in  Calvin's  house,  but  that  at 
the  end  of  a  week  he  was  obliged  to  remove,  in  order  to  make 
room  for  a  lady,  named  Du  Berger,  who  wished  to  have  apart- 
ments there  for  herself,  her  son,  and  a  man-servant.  "  You  asked 
me  in  a  friendly  way  to  give  up  my  chamber  to  the  servant ;  I 
did  so,  and  paid  my  cost.  After  some  time  I  was  requested  by 
your  people  to  come  and  serve  the  servant,  who  was  toy  country- 
man, and  had  been  taken  sick.  I  attended  him  till  his  death, 
which  happened  at  the  end  of  seven  days,  and  I  boarded  at  your 
table."  He  subsequently  relates,  that  he  rendered  Calvin's 
family  much  service  when  the  former  was  at  Ratisbone. 

It  appears  from  Castalio's  account,  that  Calvin,  as  a  professor, 
received  some  young  people  into  his  house,  and  that  when  he 
was  married,  he  admitted  into  his  family  such  Christians  as 
wished,  spiritually  speaking,  to  feed  of  the  crumbs  wrhich  fell 
from  his  table,  richly  furnished  as  it  was  from  his  own  stores  of 
life.  How  poor  he  was  in  a  worldly  sense,  at  this  time,  appears, 
as  we  shall  see,  from  his  letters  to  Farel.  His  necessity  indeed 
was  so  great  that  he  was  driven  to  sell  his  books.     The  stipend 

VOL.  i.  — 17 


258  calvin's  private  difficulties.        [chap.  xi. 

which  he  received  must  have  been  very  small.  His  correspond- 
ence cost  no  trilling  sum.  The  publication  of  his  works  brought 
but  little  in,  and  he  would  take  nothing  of  his  friends.  It  ap- 
pears from  frequent  allusions,  that  he  superintended  the  education 
of  several  young  persons  in  whom  he  felt  an  interest. 

In  a  letter,  sent  some  time  after  to  Bullinger,  he  mentions  a 
circumstance  which  occurred  with  the  deputies  of  the  Wal- 
denses  :  "  Sixteen  years  ago  the  Waldenses  sent  us  their  Con- 
fession. Both  the  excellent  Bucer  and  I  were  well-pleased  with 
this ;  but,  subsequently,  a  copy  was  shown  me,  in  which  I  saw 
much  to  dislike,  and  which  1  could  not  admit."  He  wrote  also 
to  Farel :  "  The  Waldensian  brothers  owed  me  a  crown-dollar, 
a  part  of  which  I  lent  them,  and  the  other  part  gave  to  their 
messenger.  I  have  now  told  them  to  give  the  money  to  you. 
If  they  have  done  so,  keep  it,  that  I  may  be  so  much  less  in 
your  debt.  What  remains,  I  will  pay  as  soon  as  I  can.  Such 
are  my  present  circumstances  that  I  cannot  pay  a  farthing.  It 
is  wonderful  how  much  money  is  drawn  from  me  by  unexpected 
calls,  and  still  I  must  live  on  my  own,  if  I  do  not  wish  to  become 
a  burden  to  my  brethren.  For  my  health,  which,  out  of  love, 
you  so  anxiously  commend  to  my  care,  I  cannot  for  my  own  part 
feel  so  anxious." 

In  a  following  letter  (Ep.  15,  April,  1539)  he  says,  "  Whether 
I  remain  here  or  go  farther,  cares,  troubles  and  difficulties  press 
upon  me.  I  allow  it  is  pleasant  to  see  that  the  brethren  are 
so  anxious  about  me,  and  so  ready  to  help  my  poverty  out  of 
their  need.  It  cannot  be  but  that  I  must  feel  rejoiced  at  such 
proofs  of  love;  but  I  have  resolved  not  to  accept  either  their 
or  your  benevolence,  unless  compelled  by  a  harder  necessity. 
Wendelinus  the  printer,  to  whom  I  sent  my  little  work,  will  give 
me  sufficient  to  meet  the  extraordinary  expenses.  My  books, 
which  are  still  at  Geneva,  will  satisfy  my  landlord  till  next  win- 
ter. The  Lord  will  take  care  of  the  future.  Formerly,  when  I 
had  numberless  friends  in  France,  (here  was  not  one  who  would 
have  offered  me  a  farthing;  but  if  they  had  done  it,  they  would 
have  enjoyed,  at  no  expense,  the  luxury  of  acting  generously, 
for  it  would  have  cost  them  nothing  to  oiler  what  I  would  not 
have  accepted.  At  present  I  shall  content  myself  with  your 
kindness  and  that  of  the  brethren.  I  shall  accept  the  help  as 
affording  me  a  claim,  if  I  need  it.  On  the  other  hand,  I  beg  you 
to  be  satisfied  with  my  acknowledgment  of  your  goodness.  It 
vexes  me  that  the  crown-dollar  is  lost." 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  income.  259 

Calvin  did  not  forget,  in  after  times,  the  kindness  of  Wendelin. 
He  entrusted  him  with  the  publication  of  all  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  in  gratitude  for  his  liberality,  when  his  works,  as  yet, 
brought  no  return. 

Calvin's  letter  from  Strasburg  shows  what  his  situation  then 
was:  "Nothing  new  has  happened  since  you  were  here,  except 
that,  on  the  day  you  set  out,  about  three  hours  after  you  left,  my 
pupils  made  an  effort  to  increase  my  income.  But  the  effort 
failed,  and  I  am  therefore  no  richer  than  I  was.  If  any  one  can 
be  found  who  will  buy  my  books,  pray  sell  them,  but  not  for  a  less 
sum  than  ten,  or  at  lowest  nine  batsen  (we  suppose  each  volume), 
unless  some  one  be  ready  to  take  a  great  number ;  you  may  then 
let  them  go  for  eight.  The  carriage  has  already  cost  much,  and 
will  cost  more  before  they  reach  you." 

In  a  letter  to  Farel,  full  of  trifling  statements,  illustrating  the 
state  of  affairs  at  Strasburg,  mention  is  made  of  a  little  excess  of 
Calvin's  :  "  F  .  .  .  .  declared  to-day  that  he  would  separate  from 
the  consistory  ;  when  I  was  invited  by  a  friend  to  supper,  and 
did  not  return  till  long  after  eight,  having  enjoyed  a  very  good 
repast.  You  will  therefore  receive  a  letter  from  a  man  wrhose 
head  is  not  quite  clear  enough  for  writing."  The  bookseller 
Michael  was  to  send  the  remainder  of  Calvin's  books  with  his 
brother's  clothes:  "If  they  come  to  you,  open  the  package,  and  if 
you  can  sell  more  books,  do  so.  Send  the  rest  to  Basel.  As  he 
complains  that  my  book  sells  badly,  and  that  he  has  more  copies 
than  he  can  use,  I  have  written  to  him  to  say,  that  he  may  send 
you  a  hundred.  Let  me  know  whether  he  have  done  it.  I  will 
rather  subject  myself  to  this  difficulty  than  that  my  credit  should 
suffer.  There  is  as  much  active  life  here  in  Strasburs-  as  with 
you.  Several  university  laws  were  transgressed  a  short  while 
back.  Our  French  students,  some  even  of  those  who  live  with 
me,  were  near  being  expelled.  It  will  be  told  them  to-morrow, 
that  if  they  will  not  obey  they  must  remove.  You  see  they  came 
to  this  place  with  the  intention  of  leading  a  free  life.  The  church 
must  therefore  get  more  authority  to  bridle  their  wicked  passions. 
You  understand  however  that  something  must  be  allowed  to  folly, 
and  that  discipline  must  not  be  so  strict  as  to  prevent  people  from 
playing  the  fool  in  any  way." 

In  the  year  1539-40,  during  which  Calvin  was  so  much  occu- 
pied with  his  Commentary  on  the  Romans,  the  duties  of  his 
office,  his  lectures  and  sermons,  his  journeys  and  correspond- 
ence, he    yet  found  time    for  something  besides,  that  is,  matri- 


260  calvin's  marriage.  [chap.  xx. 

mony.  He  speaks  on  this  subject  to  his  friend,  in  a  letter  dated 
February  6,  1540,  but  this  was  not  for  the  first  time.  In  a  letter 
written  March  19,  1539,  he  opened  his  mind  to  Farel,  and  drew 
a  picture  of  the  kind  of  woman  lie  should  wish  for  his  wife. 
From  the  manner  in  which  he  speaks,  it  is  easy  to  discover  that 
he  had  been  long  employed  with  these  thoughts.  As  his  char- 
acter is  but  little  known  in  this  respect,  and  there  is  something 
peculiar  in  it,  we  must  take  advantage  of  the  only  means  we 
possess  to  trace  the  development  of  his  mind  and  feelings.  In 
the  letter  to  Farel,  February  6,  1540,  after  relating  several  events 
of  a  political  nature,  he  says  :  "  In  the  midst  of  all  these  im- 
portant movements,  I  enjoy  such  tranquillity  that  I  am  ven- 
turing to  think  of  marriage.  Some  one  proposed  to  me  a  young 
lady  of  noble  family,  rich,  and  above  my  rank.  Two  reasons 
kept  me  from  forming  a  union  with  this  lady.  In  the  first  place, 
she  did  not  know  our  language  ;  and,  in  the  next,  I  feared  she 
might  think  too  much  of  her  rank  and  education.  Her  brother, 
a  very  pious  man,  insisted  upon  it ;  but  only  because  he  was  so 
blinded  by  regard  for  me,  that  he  altogether  neglected  every  other 
consideration.  His  wife  rivalled  him  in  his  efforts  to  accomplish 
the  union,  so  that  I  should  have  been  almost  compelled  to  give 
my  hand,  if  the  Lord  had  not  made  me  free.  When  I  answered, 
that  I  could  take  no  step  unless  the  young  lady  promised  to 
employ  herself  diligently  in  the  study  of  our  language,  she  ex- 
pressed her  wish  to  have  time  for  consideration.  On  this,  I 
immediately  sent  my  brother,  with  a  good  man,  to  offer  my  ad- 
dresses to  another  lady,  who,  if  she  comply  with  their  request, 
will  bring  me  a  great  dowry,  though  without  any  wealth,  for  she 
is  wonderfully  praised  by  all  who  know  her.  If  she  come,  as 
we  certainly  believe  she  will,  we  shall  not  defer  the  marriage  be- 
yond the  10th  March.  How  rejoiced  should  I  be  if  you  could 
be  present  to  bless  the  union  !  But  as  I  gave  you  more  than 
enough  trouble  last  year,  I  dare  not  ask  it.  If  any  one  of  the 
brethren,  however,  intends  to  visit  us,  I  wish  it  might  be  at  that 
time,  so  that  he  might  stand  in  your  place.  Although  1  should 
be  laughed  at,  were  it  to  turn  out  that  I  have  been  deceived  in 
my  hopes,  yet,  as  I  trust  the  Lord  will  help  me,  I  speak  of  the 
thing  as  certain." 

Soon  after  (February  26,  1540,  MSS.  Gen.)  he  wrote  to  Farel, 
"  Would  that  it  were  permitted  me  to  pour  out  my  feelings  on 
your  friendly  bosom,  and  again  to  hear  your  advice,  that  we 
might  be  better  prepared  !     You  have   the  best  opportunity  for 


a.d.  1541-60.]  viret's  marriage.  261 

coming  hither,  if  our  hopes  respecting  the  marriage  be  accom- 
plished, for  we  expect  the  maiden  immediately  after  Easter. 
But  if  you  will  really  promise  me  to  come,  the  ceremony  shall 
be  put  off  till  your  arrival,  there  being  still  time  enough  to  let 
you  know  the  day.  First  then,  I  ask  it  of  you,  as  the  greatest 
kindness,  to  come ;  next,  that  you  write  word  definitively  that 
you  will  come,  for  it  is  necessary,  at  all  events,  that  some  one 
come  to  bless  the  marriage.  I  would  fain  however  have  no  one 
but  you.  Consider  therefore  whether  I  seem  worth  enough  to 
you  to  undertake  this  journey." 

In  another  letter  to  Farel,  dated  June  21,  1540  (MSS.  Gen.), 
there  is  a  strange  piece  of  news  respecting  the  approaching  mar- 
riage. The  time  was  fixed,  Farel  invited,  but  still  no  bride  was 
there.  "  The  bride  is  not  yet  found,  and  I  doubt  whether  I  shall 
continue  to  seek  one.  Claudius  and  my  brother  formed  a  contract 
for  me  with  a  young  lady  ;  but  three  days  after  they  returned, 
something  was  told  me  which  induced  me  to  send  my  brother 
back,  in  order  to  loose  me  from  the  engagement." 

With  what  tenderness  Calvin  could  speak  of  a  young  maiden, 
and  how  wrong  it  is  to  regard  him  as  a  hard,  severe,  unfeeling 
scholar,  who  had  all  his  life  long  no  love  for  the  beautiful,  we 
may  learn  from  a  short  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Viret  respect- 
ing a  young  lady  whom  Viret  was  about  to  marry.  Calvin 
entered  into  the  minutest  circumstances  connected  with  the 
choice  of  a  wife  for  his  friend,  and  was  quite  enraptured  with  the 
image  of  the  young  person  whom  he  was  likely  to  choose : 
"  Write  soon,  and  let  us  know  your  decision.  The  more  we  in- 
quire, the  more  we  hear  in  favor  of  the  young  maiden  whom 
you  regard  as  such  a  treasure.  I  am  now  therefore  endeavor- 
ing to  learn  the  will  of  her  father.  As  soon  as  we  know  any 
thing  certain,  I  will  inform  you.  In  the  mean  time  be  prepared. 
Perrini  is  not  pleased  with  this  marriage,  because  he  would  have 
you  take  Raine's  daughter.  This  renders  me  the  more  anxious 
to  see  him  without  delay,  and  I  think  he  will  speak  with  me  to- 
day. We  have  both  been  invited  to  supper  by  Corne,  and  under 
some  polite  pretence  I  shall  manage  to  introduce  the  subject. 
It  would  be  better  if  you  would  allow  me  to  ask  her  imme- 
diately. I  have  seen  her  twice.  She  is  very  modest  and  well- 
behaved.  Her  countenance  and  whole  bearing  are  wonderfully 
graceful;  and  all  people  speak  so  much  of  her  virtues,  that  little 
John  told  me  he  was  in  love  with  her  himself.     Farewell :  the 


262  CALVIN    TO    VIRET.  [CHAP.  XX. 

Lord  guide  you  by  his  counsel,  and  bless  us  in  an  undertaking  of 
such  vast  importance. " 

He  relates  in  a  letter  sent  two  days  after  to  his  friend,  how 
he  spent  the  evening  in  company  with  Perrini  and  Cornaeus, 
who  wished  Viret  to  marry  some  other  lady,  thereby  increasing 
the  difficulty  of  an  arrangement:  "I  am  full  of  anxiety,  and 
know  not  exactly  how  to  act."  He  stated  his  wish  to  ask  at 
once  the  young  lady's  consent,  but  under  the  condition  that 
Viret  should  first  meet  her.  "  Write  to  me  by  the  earliest  mes- 
senger. It  is  my  opinion  we  should  not  delay,  and  that  you 
ought  to  come  as  soon  as  possible.  We  hear  nothing  of  the 
young  lady  but  what  is  calculated  to  strengthen  your  resolution. 
There  is  also  nothing  to  object  to  the  father  and  mother.  As 
for  the  other  lady  (some  one  proposed  to  Viret  by  the  chief  men 
of  the  city),  there  is  more  to  fear.  But  it  is  your  affair;  you 
are  free  to  choose.  At  all  events,  there  is  not  a  man  on  earth 
whose  own  interests  lie  nearer  his  heart  than  this  affair  to  mine.' 
The  affair  however  was  put  an  end  to  by  the  determination  of 
the  father  to  see  his  only  daughter  married  in  Geneva,  and  not 
in  Lausanne.  Calvin  was  very  angry  that  the  old  gentleman 
should  create  a  difficulty  on  this  account.  But  in  order  to  com- 
fort Viret,  he  concludes  by  hinting,  (:  that  a  friend  had  spoken  to 
him  of  a  widow,  who,  according  to  his  opinion,  would  please  him 
very  much." 

From  a  postscript  to  the  letter  here  quoted,  it  appears  that 
Viret  adhered  fondly  to  his  earlier  attachment.  Calvin  speaks 
continually,  in  letters  to  his  friends,  on  the  subject  of  marriage, 
and  shows  thereby  the  active  interest  which  he  took  in  the  do- 
mestic happiness  and  circumstances  of  his  friends.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  many  of  his  female  acquaintances  might  look  to 
him  for  advice  and  guidance. 

He  wrote  to  Viret  in  September,  1548  (MSS.  Gen.),  "1  should 
rejoice  to  find  for  our  Merlin  some  really  excellent  woman. 
But  when  I  look  about,  I  can  scarcely  see  one  whom  I  should 
venture  to  give  him.  If  it  were  agreeable  to  him  to  make  a 
journey  to  this  place,  under  some  other  pretence,  he  would  be 
better  able  to  judge  for  himself,  and  might  consider  the  matter 
with  nu;.  He  could  trust  his  thoughts  to  me  in  full  confidence 
and  friendship.  Something  might  turn  out.  I  know  nothing 
better  than  this  counsel." 

With  what  youthful  liveliness  the  first   reformers  treated  the 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  marriage.  263 

subject  of  marriage,  appears  also  from  Farel's  answer  to  Calvin, 
July  1,  1558  (MSS.  Gen.) :  "  I  could  name  to  you  some  young 
ladies  of  good  birth  and  well  brought  up ;  but  as  they  are  very 
poor,  I  have  not  ventured  to  do  it.  I  know  of  none  who  are,  at 
the  same  time,  good-looking,  amiable  and  rich.  I  have  men- 
tioned only  three  in  my  letters.  Time  will,  perhaps,  bring  me 
acquainted  with  more.  I  shall  take  good  care  that  the  young 
man  be  well  provided  for.  Two  live  near  you ;  they  have  an 
engaging  appearance,  and  are  well  brought  up ;  and  though  they 
have  no  great  dowry  to  bring,  they  would  not  come  altogether 
poor.  If  anything  occurs  here  I  will  immediately  inform  you, 
and  if  you  had  set  spurs  to  your  horse  and  come  hither  sooner, 
you  would  have  been  able  to  inquire  more  conveniently  for 
yourself." 

CALVIN'S    MARRIAGE    WITH    IDELETTE    DE    BURES. 

Calvin's  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  the  Anabaptists  exhibited 
itself  at  Strasburg.  Among  those  converted  by  him  was  a  cer- 
tain person  named  Storder,  from  Liege  ;  he  did  not  live  long  after 
his  conversion,  and  Calvin  married  his  widow  at  Strasburg,  and, 
as  it  seems,  at  the  advice  of  Bucer. 

Idelette  de  Bures  was  the  name  of  the  woman  deemed  worthy 
of  standing  by  the  reformer's  side  through  the  most  stormy  period 
of  his  life.  Beza  calls  her  a  worthy,  noble,  well-read  person. 
This  happy  union  lasted  only  nine  years,  which  is  so  much  the 
more  to  be  lamented,  as  the  influence  of  such  a  woman  and  of 
domestic  life  would  certainly  have  operated  beneficially,  even  to 
the  last,  on  Calvin's  character. 

As  we  know  little  circumstantially  of  Luther's  marriage  and 
domestic  life,  so  have  we  as  little  information  respecting  Cal- 
vin's. There  is  however  much  to  interest  us.  We  have  not 
indeed  in  this  case  the  high-spirited  husband  before  our  eyes, 
who,  in  defiance  of  all  the  world,  espoused  a  nun  just  out  of  the 
cloister;  who  became  the  father  of  seven  children,  whose  descend- 
ants lived  long  among  us,  and  who  regarded  his  wife  with  such 
a  jocund  humor  that  he  called  her  his  "  mistress  Kate."  Lu- 
ther was  to  be  considered  as  a  pattern  in  the  evangelical  com- 
munity of  a  Christian  married  pastor.  His  union  with  Cathe- 
rine von  Bora  is  described  in  the  most  agreeable  manner  in  his 
letters.  Still,  Idelette  de  Bures  seems  to  have  been  very  supe- 
rior  to   Catherine  von  Bora  in    education    and  dignity,   and  as 


264  calvin's  marriage.  [chap.  xx. 

she  belonged  to  Calvin,  a  memorial  shall  be  dedicated  to  her 
honor. 

What  Calvin  thought  of  his  future  wife,  and  how  earnestly  and 
holily  he  meditated  upon  marriage,  we  see  from  a  letter  to  Farel, 
dated  j\Iay  19,  1539:  "Remember  what  I  expect  from  one  who 
is  to  be  a  companion  through  life.  I  do  not  belong  to  the  class 
of  loving  fools,  who,  blinded  by  passion,  are  ready  to  expend 
their  affection  on  vice  itself.  Uo  you  wish  to  know  what  kind  of 
beauty  alone  can  win  my  soul?  It  is  that  in  which  grace  and 
virtue,  contented  ness  and  suavity,  are  united  with  simplicity. 
And  I  can  hope  that  a  woman  with  these  qualities  would  not  be 
negligent  of  my  general  well-being." 

Calvin  wished  his  marriage  with  Idelette  to  be  celebrated  with 
all  possible  solemnity  and  pomp.  This  was,  probably,  in  mere 
accordance  with  the  fashion  of  the  times.  The  consistories  from 
Neufchatel  and  Valengin  were  invited  to  Strasburg,  in  order  to 
be  present  at  the  feast ;  and  they  accordingly  sent  their  repre- 
sentatives. Many  of  Calvin's  expressions  show,  that  the  union 
between  himself  and  his  wife  was  of  a  high  and  noble  character. 
It  was  no  trilling  thing  for  him  who  praised  so  few,  who  never 
spoke  unprofitably,  and  who  weighed  so  well  the  words  which 
he  used,  to  say  of  his  wife,  that  she  was  a  remarkable  woman — 
singularis  exempli  faemina. 

One  son  only  was  the  offspring  of  this  marriage,  and  he  died 
at  a  very  early  age;  but  Idelette  had  had  several  children  by  her 
former  husband  ;  these  Calvin  loved  as  his  own,  and  Idelette 
commended  them  to  his  care  with  her  dying  breath.  The  cath- 
olics have  said  much  respecting  the  unfruitfulness  of  this  mar- 
riage. Thus  Brietius,  a  Jesuit,  says,  "  He  married  Idelette,  by 
whom  he  had  no  children,  that  the  life  of  this  infamous  man 
might  not  be  propagated."  But  many  authentic  witnesses  tes- 
tify to  the  contrary.  Drelincourt  says  in  his  defence  of  Calvin  : 
"  P.  Masso  and  Jaques  Desmay  state  that  Calvin  had  no  children, 
and  even  Florimond  de  Raimond,  after  having  spoken  of  the 
marriage  of  Calvin  with  Idelette,  adds,  '  this  marriage  was  con- 
demned to  a  perpetual  sterility,  though  Idelette  was  still  in  the 
prime  of  life.'  But  M.  de  Beza  says  in  his  Life  of  Calvin,  that 
he  had  a  son  who  died  immediately  after  his  birth,  and  Calvin 
himself  says  the  same  in  his  reply  to  Baudouin.*' 

It  was  slanderously  said  of  the  reformers  that  they  only  began 
the  reformation,  as  the  Greeks  the  war  of  Troy,  for  the  sake  of  a 


a.d.  1541-60.]       sickness  of  calvin's  wife.  265 

woman.  To  this  Calvin  earnestly  replies:  "Our  adversaries 
accuse  us  of  having  undertaken  a  sort  of  Trojan  war  against  the 
papacy,  for  the  sake  of  women.  To  pass  over  other  considera- 
tions, they  must  at  least  exonerate  me  from  such  a  charge.  I 
am  perfectly  at  liberty  to  cast  back  their  foolish  tittle-tattle. 
There  was  never  anything  to  hinder  me,  even  under  the  tyranny 
of  the  papacy,  from  taking  a  wife,  but  I  remained  many  years 
without  doing  so.  My  wife,  a  woman  of  rare  qualities,  died  a 
year  and  a  half  ago,  and  I  have  now  willingly  chosen  to  lead  a 
solitary  life." 

The  following  is  from  a  letter  to  Viret,  without  date  : — "  The 
brother  will  tell  you  in  what  anguish  I  write  to  you.  My  wife's 
confinement  has  been  attended  with  the  greatest  danger.  It  was 
somewhat  premature.  May  the  Lord  look  down  upon  us  with 
mercy."  In  the  "  Letters  to  the  Seigneur  of  Fatlais  "  (p.  48),  Cal- 
vin says,  "  I  thank  you  humbly  for  the  very  gracious  offer  which 
you  make  me  respecting  the  baptism  of  our  child." 

In  very  many  of  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  friends,  the 
reformers,  he  sends  his  greetings  to  the  ladies.  This  is  especially 
the  case  in  those  to  Viret,  who  was  married  ;  and  an  indication 
is  thus  given  of  the  friendly  domestic  sort  of  intercourse  which 
existed  between  these  two  excellent  men.  The  following  pas- 
sage occurs  in  a  letter  which  Calvin  wrote  to  Viret  soon  after 
the  death  of  his  infant  son : — "  Greet  all  the  brethren,  and  also 
your  aunt  and  your  wife,  to  whom  my  wife  sends  her  best  thanks 
for  the  friendly  and  holy  consolation  which  they  have  rendered 
her.  She  could  only  write  by  means  of  another,  and  even  to 
dictate  a  letter  would  be  very  painful  to  her.  The  Lord  has 
indeed  inflicted  a  grievous  wound  on  us  by  the  loss  of  our  little 
son,  and  we  feel  it  bitterly.  But  He  is  a  Father  and  knows  what 
is  necessary  for  his  children.  Farewell!  The  Lord  be  with  you. 
Ah!  if  you  could  hasten  hither,  how  gladly  should  I  have  half  a 
day's  talk  with  you  !"  The  allusions  to  domestic  concerns  go 
hand  in  hand  in  every  letter  with  those  which  refer  to  public 
business,  however  important  it  may  be. 

When  his  wife  was  ill,  and  he  expected  a  melancholy  termi- 
nation to  the  disorder,  he  wrote  to  Viret:  "I  desire  to  be  re- 
membered to  your  wife.  Mine  is  her  companion  in  a  lingering 
sickness."  In  another  letter :  "  Greet  thy  wife.  As  soon  as 
she  is  confined,  let  her  send  for  mine."  Afterwards  :  "  It  grieves 
me  that  my  wife  has  been  such  a  trouble  to  you ;  for  she  has 
not,  I  suspect,  been  able  to  render  much  help  to  yours,  her  own 


266  LETTER    TO    VIRET.  [CHAP.  XX. 

health  requiring  the  constant  assistance  of  others.     This  only  is 
my  comfort,  that  I  am  convinced  she  is  not  disagreeable  to  you." 

After  speaking  on  matters  of  pressing  importance,  he  says, 
"I  sympathize  with  your  little  daughter;  but  she  will  forgive 
her  mother  when  she  has  a  brother  or  sister  born  to  her.  The 
weaning  I  hope  is  well  over."  In  letters  afterwards  written  he 
always  greets  "  the  little  girls."  The  following  expressions 
also  occur:  "My  wife  commends  herself  to  your  prayers.  She 
nourishes  a  lingering  disorder,  the  issue  of  which  I  greatly  fear." 
"  My  wife's  sickness  continues  as  usual."  "  My  wife,  who  is 
struggling  with  a  lingering  disease,  greets  you."  At  the  end  of 
a  letter  to  Viret :  "My  wife  commends  herself  to  your  prayers. 
She  is  so  overpowered  by  her  sickness  that  she  can  scarcely  sup- 
port herself.  Frequently  she  seems  somewhat  better,  but  she 
soon  relapses.  My  colleagues  greet  you.  Cop  wishes  you  to 
come,  if  possible,  to  his  wedding.  You  know  that  we  have  given 
him  the  widow  of  Gurin  to  wife." 

We  learn  the  character  of  Calvin's  wife  as  that  of  an  exalted 
Christian  soul,  through  the  account  given  us  of  her  death  by 
Calvin  himself.  In  this  narrative  he  also  shows  how  tenderly  his 
affections  were  fixed  upon  her.  The  letters  referring  to  the  pres- 
ent period  prove  the  severity  of  his  grief,  and,  which  is  remark- 
able, he  accuses  himself  of  yielding  to  his  weakness. 

The  following  is  a  letter  to  Viret,  dated  April  7,  1549: — "Al- 
though my  wife's  death  has  pressed  hard  upon  me,  I  seek  as 
much  as  possible  to  conquer  my  sorrow,  and  my  friends  con- 
tend with  each  other  to  afford  me  consolation  ;  but,  in  truth, 
neither  their  nor  my  efforts  can  accomplish  what  we  wish.  Use- 
less however  as  it  may  be,  it  is  a  greater  comfort  to  me  than  I 
can  describe.  You  know  the  tenderness,  or  far  rather  ought  I 
to  say,  the  weakness  of  my  heart,  and  you  arc  well  aware  there- 
fore that  if  I  had  not  exercised  the  whole  force  of  my  spirit  to 
soften  my  agony,  I  could  not  have  borne  it.  And  indeed  the 
cause  of  my  distress  is  not  a  trifling  one.  I  am  separated  from 
the  best  of  companions,  who,  if  anything  harder  could  have  hap- 
pened to  me,  would  willingly  have  been  my  companion,  not  only 
in  exile  and  in  want,  but  in  death  itself.  She  was  a  true  help 
to  me  in  her  life  in  the  duties  of  my  office.  She  never  opposed 
me  in  the  slightest  matter.  As  she  had  no  anxiety  for  herself, 
so,  through  her  whole  sickness,  she  avoided  letting  me  see  that 
she  had  any  for  her  children.  But  as  I  feared  this  silence  might 
uselessly   increase  her  care,   I   began  myself,  three   days   before 


A.D.  1541-60.]  DEATH    OF    CALVIN's    WIFE.  267 

her  death,  to  speak  on  the  subject,  and  promised  to  do  for  her 
children  whatever  lay  in  my  power.  She  immediately  answered 
that  she  had  already  commended  them  to  God  ;  and  on  my  re- 
plying-, that  this  would  not  hinder  my  caring-  for  them,  she  an- 
swered, '  I  am  sure  you  will  not  forsake  the  children  who  are 
commended  to  God.'  But  yesterday  I  learnt  that  when  a  friend 
requested  her  to  speak  with  me  respecting  the  children,  she  an- 
swered her  briefly- — that  the  one  thing  necessary  was  that  they 
should  be  God-fearing,  pious  people.  'It  is  not  necessary  to 
make  my  husband  promise  to  bring  them  up  in  holiness  and  the 
fear  of  God.  If  they  be  pious,  he  will  be  to  them  an  unsought 
father ;  if  they  be  not,  they  do  not  deserve  that  I  should  pray 
for  them.'  And  this  greatness  of  soul  will  indeed  influence  me 
more  powerfully  than  all  the  directions  she  could  have  given 
me."* 

On  the  11th  of  April,  a  few  days  after  the  event,  Calvin  wrote 
from  Geneva  to  Farel :  "You  have  no  doubt  heard  already  of 
the  death  of  my  wife.  I  do  what  I  can,  not  to  sink  altogether 
under  the  weight  of  this  misfortune.  My  friends  leave  nothing 
undone  to  lighten,  in  some  degree,  the  sorrow  of  my  soul. 
When  your  brother  set  out  from  hence,  we  were  already  begin- 
ning to  despair  of  her  life.  On  Tuesday,  when  all  the  brethren 
were  with  me,  they  considered  it  would  be  most  proper  for  us 
to  engage  together  in  common  prayer  ;  this  was  done  ;  and  when 
Abel  exhorted  her,  in  the  name  of  all,  to  faith  and  patience,  she 
gave  us  to  understand,  by  the  few  words  which,  weak  as  she  then 
was,  it  was  possible  for  her  to  utter,  what  were  the  thoughts 
occupying  her  mind.  I  added  a  brief  admonition  of  my  own, 
referring  to  her  condition.  On  the  day  when  she  rendered  her 
soul  to  God,  our  brother  Bourgouing  addressed  her,  about  six 
in  the  evening,  with  Christian  feeling.  While  he  was  speak- 
ing, she  cried  from  time  to  time  (so  that  all  could  easily  see  that 
her  heart  was  lifted  up  far  above  this  world),  '  O  glorious  res- 
urrection !  O  God  of  Abraham,  and  of  all  our  fathers  !  Be- 
lievers have  hoped  in  Thee,  from  the  beginning,  and  in  all  times; 
and  no  one  has  been  shamed  by  his  hope.  I  also  will  look  for 
thy  salvation.'  These  short  sentences  were  rather  murmured 
than  uttered.  She  did  not  repeat  (he  words  of  others,  but  ex- 
pressed in  some  few  of  her  own,  the  thoughts  which  had  em- 
ployed her  soul.  About  six  o'clock  I  was  called  from  home  ;  at 
seven,  when  she  had  been  moved,  she  began  to  grow  weaker  and 
*  Viret's  affecting  answer  appears  later,  in  the  year  1549. 


268  calvin's  fortitude.  [chap.  xx. 

weaker.  When  she  felt  4hat  her  voice  was  likely  soon  to  fail, 
she  said,  'Let  us  pray  to  God;  let  us  pray.  Do  you  all  im- 
plore God  for  me.'  At  this  moment  I  returned.  She  could  no 
longer  speak,  but  still  gave  signs  of  the  devout  feeling  of  her 
heart.  After  I  had  said  some  little  on  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ, 
on  future  happiness,  on  the  life  we  had  passed  together,  and  on 
our  going  home,  I  collected  myself  for  prayer.  She  listened 
with  perfect  consciousness  and  attention  to  my  words,  and  as 
edified  by  them.  Shortly  before  eight  she  fell  asleep  and  slum- 
bered so  tranquilly  that  those  who  stood  around  her  bed  could 
scarcely  tell  the  last  moment  of  her  life.  Although  I  am  very 
much  bowed  down,  I  continue  to  fulfil  diligently  all  the  duties  of 
my  office ;  and  God  in  the  mean  time  has  prepared  new  struggles 
for  me." 

Even  after  seven  years  he  still  expressed  the  same  grief.  Thus 
we  read  in  a  consolatory  letter,  written  in  1556,  and  addressed 
to  Richard  de  Valleville,  minister  of  the  French  congregation  at 
Frankfort :  "  I  know  well  enough  from  my  own  feelings,  when 
I  think  of  the  affliction  which  I  suffered  seven  years  ago,  how 
acute  and  burning  the  wound  must  be  which  the  death  of  your 
excellent  wife  has  inflicted.  I  remember  how  difficult  it  was  for 
me  to  master  my  grief.  But  you  know  well  what  means  we 
must  employ  for  overcoming  immoderate  sorrow.  It  only  re- 
mains for  me  therefore  to  pray  you  to  use  them.  Among  other 
grounds  of  consolation  this  is  not  the  least  (although  our  earthly 
nature  be  the  more  troubled  thereby),  that  you  passed  a  portion 
of  your  life  with  a  woman  whose  society  you  may  expect  to  en- 
joy again  whenever  you  leave  this  world.  Consider,  therefore, 
that  her  example  has  taught  you  to  die  a  good  death.  .  .  .  But 
since  our  chief  consolation  must  always  be  the  wonderful  provi- 
dence of  God,  through  which  our  afflictions  are  made  serviceable 
to  our  salvation,  and  as  He  only  separates  us  from  those  whom 
we  love  in  order  to  re-unite  us  with  them  in  his  heavenly  king- 
dom, so,  pious  as  you  are,  must  you  submit  yourself  to  his  will. 
May  the  Lord  of  all  consolation  soften  your  solitude,  by  the  grace 
of  his  Spirit,  guide  you,  and  bless  your  labors.'9 ' 

These  letters  show  us  the  great  man  in  his  ordinary  domestic 
life.  We  see  that  esteem  and  friendship  formed  the  foundation 
of  bis  union;  and  where  such  greatness  of  soul  and  such  pure 
Christianity  exist  on  both  sides,  domestic  life  cannot  fail  to  be  in 
the  highest  degree  happy. 

*  Epist.  230,  Ed.  Laus. 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  poverty. 

In  order  however  to  know  Calvin  as  he  was,  and  to  form  a  cor 
rect  idea  of  his  domestic  life,  we  must  observe  that  his  mode  of 
living  was  not  only  simple,  but  characterized  by  poverty.     Many 
testimonies  exist  to  this  effect.     Poverty  was  with  him  a  principle, 
and  when  he  received  it  was  only  to  give. 

How  greatly  poverty  becomes  a  Christian  is  shown  by  Tauler 
in  his  peculiar  style :  "  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  sell  what  thou 
hast  and  give  it  to  the  poor.  Christ  requires  not  only  poverty 
of  spirit,  which  is  necessary  to  salvation,  but  spareness  of  body ; 
the  surrender  of  everything  earthly,  even  that  which  seems  in- 
dispensable and  necessary.  Give  it  to  the  poor,  to  those  who 
can  give  nothing  in  return,  and  God  will  reward  thee  for  it." 
This  poverty  has  been  practised  by  many  true  Christians  in  the 
Catholic  church,  often  to  excess;  often  with  purity  of  intention. 
In  no  one  does  it  appear  more  amiably  than  in  Vincentius,  who 
says,  "There  is  a  hidden  grace  in  poverty,  and  happy  is  he  who 
knows  how  to  find  it."  In  his  hospice  of  St.  Lazarus,  Vincen- 
tius might  have  served  for  an  example  to  every  evangelical  minis- 
ter, and  stood  higher  by  his  willing  poverty  than  Fenelon  him- 
self, who  did  not  despise  the  grandeur  of  a  bishopric.  But  prot- 
estants  also  have  sought  and  practised  this  voluntary  Christian 
poverty :  Fletcher,  Wesley,  and  many  other  Methodists  may  be 
mentioned  as  instances.  Gichtel  also  is  another,  who,  great  in 
his  way,  was  satisfied  to  become  a  servant,  and  despised  the 
greatest  riches. 

Calvin  sought  by  his  example  to  inculcate  esteem  for  this  poor 
and  humble  kind  of  life,  but  in  this,  as  in  everything  else,  in  the 
strongest  opposition  to  the  popish,  monkish  spirit  of  his  times. 
How  earnestly  he  felt  in  this  respect  we  have  seen  already  in  his 
description  of  his  future  wife,  among  the  first  of  whose  virtues 
he  required  to  find  frugality.  Although  he  was  very  poor,  he 
would  never  accept  a  present  but  for  the  poor.  He  refused  the 
stipend  which  the  Strasburgers  would  have  continued  to  pay  him, 
and  would  not  accept  the  support  proffered  by  the  Genevese 
council. 

We  anticipate  here  in  order  to  draw  a  more  perfect  likeness. 
He  received  at  Geneva  only  just  sufficient  to  support  him  with 
the  greatest  parsimony.  His  pay  consisted  of  fifty  dollars, 
twelve  measures  of  corn,  two  tuns  of  wine,  and  a  dwelling-house. 
The  state-protocol  of  October,  1541,  says,  indeed,  "  that  a  con- 
siderable stipend  was  granted  to  Calvin,  because  he  was  very 
learned,   and  visitors  cost   him  much."     But  what  proves  that 


270  calvin's  income.  [chap.  xx. 

this  income  was  very  small,  according  to  the  price  of  things  at 
that  time,  is  the  circumstance,  that  the  council  frequently  found 
it  necessary,  from  mere  kindness,  to  lend  him  a  helping  hand. 
True  however  to  his  principles,  he  refused  ten  dollars  offered 
him  when  he  was  sick  in  1546,  and  two  which  the  couucil  wished 
him  to  accept  for  his  journey  to  Bern,  in  1553,  on  the  affairs  of 
the  republic.  On  December  28,  1556,  the  council  sent  him 
some  wood  to  warm  his  chamber ;  he  carried  them  the  money 
for  it,  but  they  would  not  take  it.  The  same  body  sent  him, 
May  14,  1560,  a  tun  of  the  best  wine,  because  he  had  only  what 
was  very  indifferent.  He  borrowed  however  twenty-five  dollars 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  sickness,  and  on  the  22d  of  June, 
1563,  earnestly  entreated  the  council  to  receive  them  back.* 
He  protested  indeed,  "  that  he  would  never  again  enter  the  pul- 
pit, if  he  were  compelled  to  retain  another  indemnification." 
Twenty  dollars,  that  is,  almost  half  the  amount  of  his  stipend, 
he  bad  formally  rejected, — a  plain  proof  this  of  his  desire  tc 
remain  poor.  In  a  letter  to  Farel  (January  21,  1546),  he  ex- 
pressly relates  how  he  was  once  obliged  to  argue  with  an  ana- 
baptist before  the  council.  This  person  had  treated  him  badly, 
till  at  length  driven  into  a  corner,  and  being  full  of  malice,  he 
answered  Calvin,  that  all  the  clergy  led  a  life  of  luxury.  The 
reformer  replied,  and  the  anabaptist  then  called  him  a  miser, 
which  excited  general  laughter ;  "  For  it  was  recollected  what 
I  had  given  up  this  very  year,  and  that  I  had  sworn  I  would  not 
preach  again  if  I  were  pressed  any  more  on  the  subject.  It  was 
also  known  that  I  had  refused  additional  presents,  and  had  given 
up  twenty  dollars  from  my  income.  All  fell  upon  him  when  they 
heard  this." 

He  gave  another  proof,  in  the  year  1558,  of  his  having  re- 
solved on  leading  a  life  of  poverty.  His  brethren  in  office  having 
prayed  him  to  entreat  the  council  to  augment  their  stipend,  he 
requested  it  to  keep  back  a  part  of  his  own,  and  so  make  all  the 
salaries  equal. 

No  trace  exists  in  his  letters  to  lead  us  to  suppose  that  Calvin 
-nlil  any  manuscript  to  a  bookseller,  and  gained  money  in  that 
manner.  It  seems,  indeed,  as  already  mentioned,  that  he  lei 
W  endelinus,  out  of  thankfulness,  have  his  Commentaries,  because 
he  had  had  the  kindness  to  print  his  earlier  works.  He  needed 
help  iu  i his  way,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  publication  of  his  first 
work  on  .Seneca. 

*  Rcgistres  de  la  Republique. 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  poverty.  27i 

Even  catholics  bear  testimony  to  the  severe  life  which  he  led. 
Floriinond  de  Raimond  says:  "With  a  body  dry  and  attenuated, 
he  had  a  mind  ever  green  and  vigorous  ;  ready  for  service,  always 
prepared  for  attacks.  He  fasted  greatly  even  in  his  youth. 
Never  seeking  society,  but  always  retired,  Calvin  had  hardly  an 
equal.  He  was  so  assiduous  in  completing  his  'Institutes,'  that 
he  often  passed  whole  nights  without  sleeping,  and  days  without 
eating."  This  account  agrees  altogether  with  that  of  Beza,  and 
is  so  much  the  more  interesting,  as  it  shows  what  a  striking  con- 
trast existed  between  the  life  spent  by  Calvin  and  the  joyous, 
social  life  led  by  Luther,  for  whom  every  day  the  wine-goblet  was 
filled  from  the  town  council's  cellar ;  who  spoke  as  readily  at  the 
table  as  in  the  pulpit  of  divine  things,  and  whose  conversation  at 
such  times  was  remarkable  for  its  edifying  character. 

Calvin,  who  loved  poverty,  had  a  right  to  inculcate  it.  Thus, 
for  example  (Instit.  IV.  c.  iv.  s.  8),  after  having  shown  how  the 
early  bishops  expended  the  riches  of  the  church  on  the  poor  and 
oppressed,  and  for  the  ransom  of  slaves,  he  quotes  the  holy  Am- 
brose, who  says,  "The  Lord  who  sent  his  disciples  forth  without, 
money,  has  also  gathered  his  churches  together  without  money." 
From  this  thought  he  draws  the  conclusion,  that  the  churches 
possess  revenues  for  the  necessitous  only,  and  that  they  them- 
selves must  be  poor.  He  argues  in  the  same  manner  in  his 
little  work  against  bishop  Roux :  "  The  clergy  who  live  in 
wealth  are  the  worst  of  thieves."  If  he  who  is  caught  break- 
ing into  his  neighbor's  house  to  rob  him  of  his  money,  is 
whipped  by  the  hangman,  what  gibbet  is  sufficient  to  punish 
the  wretched  fraud  of  which  you  are  guilty?  When,  on  the 
one  side,  you  have  stolen  what  was  only  due  to  you  in  consider- 
ation of  your  performing  the  duties  of  your  charge  ;  and,  on  the 
other,  are  guilty  of  robbing  and  pillaging  from  house  to  house? 
Cursed  be  the  pastors  who  only  feed  themselves.  Ought  they 
not  to  feed  the  sheep?  But  you  have  eaten  the  milk,  you  have 
killed  the  fat  of  the  flock,  you  have  clothed  yourselves  with  the 
wool,  and  have  not  fed  the  flock." 

Drelincourt  very  beautifully  remarks,  in  reference  to  Calvin's 
poverty,  "  I  find  nothing,  with  the  exception  of  his  learning 
and  his  zeal,  which  glowed  intensely  to  his  last  breath,  more 
worthy  of  admiration  than  the  simplicity  of  his  life,  and  his  con- 
tempt for  the  world  and  its  riches.  I  have  read  the  following 
words  written  by  men  of  the  Romish  faith,  who  had  calculated 
Calvin's  nativity  (FJor.  de  Raimond,  1.  vii.  c.  8):  'The  honor  of 


272  calvin's  poverty.  [chap.  xx. 

the  Roman  pontificate  was  promised  Calvin  at  his  birth.'  But 
not  to  amuse  ourselves  with  these  follies,  I  am  certain,  and  no 
man  of  understanding  will  dispute  the  truth,  that  as  Calvin  was 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  age,  he  might  have 
pretended  to  the  highest  dignity  in  the  catholic  church,  if  he 
had  remained  in  its  communion  ;  but,  like  Moses,  he  considered 
the  shame  of  Christ  a  far  greater  glory  than  all  the  treasures  of 
Egypt.  He  could  say  with  Paul,  '  We  are  poor,  but  we  make 
many  rich.'  And  he  did  indeed  endow  a  vast  number  of  souls 
with  the  riches  of  heaven,  through  the  crucified  Christ.  Thus, 
poor  as  he  was,  he  made  many  rich,  as  Erasmus  said  of  Luther, 
Lutherus  pauper,  multos  facit  divites.  For  himself  one  may 
truly  say,  he  lived  and  died  poor." 

It  was  also  currently  reported  and  related  by  persons  well- 
known  in  the  Romish  church,  that  the  cardinal  Sadolet,  when 
he  once  travelled  incognito  through  Geneva,  wished  to  see  the 
reformer  Calvin,  who  had  written  against  him.  He  accordingly 
went  out,  intending  to  knock  at  the  door  himself;  and  expecting 
to  find  him,  like  the  catholics,  in  a  palace,  or  at  least  in  a  well- 
furnished  house,  and  surrounded  by  servants.  But  he  was  very 
much  surprised,  when,  in  answer  to  his  inquiries,  some  one 
pointed  out  to  him  a  small  tenement,  and  when,  on  his  knocking. 
Calvin  himself  came,  very  simply  clad,  to  open  the  door.  He 
was  surprised  indeed  to  find  that  this  was  the  great  and  cele- 
brated man  whose  writings  he  so  much  admired,  nor  could  he 
refrain  from  expressing  his  astonishment  to  him.  Calvin  how- 
ever begged  him  to  observe  that  he  did  not  call  flesh  and  blood 
to  his  counsels,  nor  look  to  enrich  himself  and  to  become  great 
in  the  world,  but  to  glorify  God  and  to  defend  the  truth. 

But  this  unselfishness  of  Calvin  was  very  much  misunder- 
stood by  his  opponents,  and  he  was  obliged  to  defend  himself 
against  their  slanders  with  great  earnestness.  He  said,  for  ex- 
ample, many  years  before,  in  his  epistle  to  Sadolet,  that  if  he 
had  desired  riches  and  honor,  he  would  not  have  left  the  catholic 
church  :  «  I  speak  not  willingly  of  myself,  but  as  you  will  not 
allow  me  to  be  silent,  I  will  say  what  I  can  without  sacrificing 
modesty.  If  I  had  consulted  my  own  interests,  I  certainly  should 
not  have  retired  from  your  faction." 

To  this  subject  also  pertains  one  of  his  letters  to  Piperin, 
written  at  a  later  period.  He  was  assailed  on  all  sides,  and  ac- 
cused of  amassing  wealth.  He  declared  that  he  would  not  con- 
descend   to   confute    all   these    absurd    attacks.     "  But   see."   he 


A. D.  1541-60.]        CALVIN    ACCUSED    OF    AVARICE.  273 

says,  "for  example,  the  great  sum  of  money  of  which  you  speak. 
All  know  with  what  moderation  I  live  at  home.  They  see  that 
I  incur  no  expense  in  the  way  of  dress.  My  only  brother  also 
is  not  very  opulent,  and  has  certainly  not  gained  what  he  has 
through  my  money.  Where  then  can  my  treasure  lie  hid? 
And  yet  it  is  reported  that  I  rob  the  poor.  This  however  the 
base  creatures  will  find  to  be  a  vain  attempt  at  slander,  since, 
when  pious  men  give  anything  to  the  poor,  not  a  farthing  passes 
through  my  hands.  About  eight  years  ago  a  gentleman  died  in 
my  house,  who  had  deposited  a  sum  of  more  than  2000  gold 
dollars  with  me,  and  without  my  giving  him  a  receipt.  As  soon 
as  I  saw  he  was  in  danger,  I  declared,  though  he  wished  me  to 
dispose  of  the  money  as  I  thought  best,  that  I  would  not  under- 
take such  a  weighty  affah.  I  took  care  that  he  sent  800  dollars 
to  Strasburg,  to  aid  the  unfortunate  refugees  in  that  city.  At 
my  earnest  request  he  named  responsible  persons  to  dispose  of 
what  remained.  When  he  wished  to  give  me  a  sum,  which 
others  would  not  have  despised,  I  resolutely  refused  it.  But  I 
see  what  incites  my  enemies  to  urge  these  falsehoods.  They 
measure  me  according  to  their  own  dispositions,  believing  that 
I  must  be  heaping  up  money  on  all  sides,  because  I  enjoy  such 
favorable  opportunities  for  doing  so.  But  assuredly  if  I  have  not 
been  able  to  avoid  the  reputation  of  being  rich,  during  my  life, 
death  will  at  last  free  me  from  this  stain.  For  the  rest,  were  I 
to  enter  upon  a  formal  defence  I  should  never  have  done  ;  for  if 
much  is  said  here,  I  know  that  this  is  scarcely  the  hundredth 
part  of  that  with  which  I  am  daily  assailed." 

Thus  also  in  his  preface  to  the  Commentaries  on  the  Psalms, 
he  says,  "  People  circulate  ridiculous  rumors  respecting  my  treas- 
ures, my  great  power,  and  my  wealthy  sort  of  life.  But  if  a  man 
satisfies  himself  with  such  simple  fare  and  such  common  clothing, 
and  does  not  require  more  moderation  in  the  humblest  than  he 
himself  exercises,  how  can  it  be  said  that  he  is  a  spendthrift  and 
fond  of  self-display  ?  My  death  will  prove  what,  they  would  not 
believe  in  my  life." 

And  so  it  happened  ;  all  his  goods  and  possessions  amounting 
only  to  about  200  dollars.  He  derived  no  profit  from  any  of  his 
books,  dedicated  though  they  were  to  princes  and  noblemen. 
The  only  present  he  received  was  a  silver  goblet,  given  him  by 
the  lord  of  Varennes,  and  which  he  bequeathed  to  his  brother. 
Even  this  circumstance,  however,  that  he  had  a  goblet  to  leave, 
was  made  a  subject  of  ridicule  and  abuse. 

vol.  i.— 18 


274  LLTHER/S    MODERATION.  [CHAP.  XI 

Luther  also  delivered  all  his  college  lectures  without  pay. 
The  booksellers  offered  him  yearly  400  dollars,  no  small  sum 
for  that  period,  but  he  was  unwilling  to  accept  any  gratuity  for 
his  writings.  His  stipend  amounted  probably  to  about  540  florins. 
His  sovereign  and  the  Danish  princes  of  that  period  acted  liber- 
ally towards  him,  and  gave  him,  Melancthon  and  Buggen- 
hagen,  little  yearly  allowances  and  presents.  Mention  is  made 
in  his  will  of  some  debt  which  was  to  be  liquidated  by  what  he 
left.  Mathesius  relates,  that  "the  elector  John  once  sent  him 
a  new  coat,  upon  receiving  which  he  wrote  back,  that  too  much 
was  done  for  him  ;  for  if  he  had  all  his  reward  here,  what  should 
he  have  to  expect  in  the  life  to  come?  John  Frederic  offered  him 
a  share  in  a  mine  on  the  Schneeberg.  He  refused  it,  saying, 
The  devil,  who  is  my  enemy,  pretends  that  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth  are  his.  Let  the  adversaries  know  the  German  beast 
cares  not  for  money,  and  will  accept  none  if  it  be  offered  him." 

As  both  men  now  stand  before  us,  we  see  the  one  somewhat 
severe,  the  other  friendly  and  social ;  and  as  we  behold  the  crowd 
of  enemies  and  slanderers  who  have  never  ceased  to  represent 
them  on  their  weakest  side,  we  cannot  help  recollecting  the 
words  of  Christ:  "John  came  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  and 
they  say,  He  hath  a  devil :  the  Son  of  man  came  eating  and 
drinking,  and  they  say,  Behold  a  man  gluttonous,  and  a  wine- 
bibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners:  but  wisdom  is  justified 
of  her  children."*  Of  Calvin's  industry  I  shall  not  speak  till  we 
arrive  at  the  examination  of  his  practical  writings,  in  the  follow- 
ing part  of  the  work. 

When  we  turn  our  attention  from  his  domestic  life  to  the  ob- 
servation of  his  inward  being,  wc  discover  that  the  man  whom 
the  world  still  so  greatly  misapprehends,  was  endowed  by  nature 
with  qualities  involving  many  contradictory  principles,  which  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  still  the  power  wonderfully  to  harmonize  and 
cement. 

In  his  spiritual  occupations  we  find  him  exhibiting  gifts,  not 
often  apparent  in  other  men  of  the  same  class;  for  example,  an 
extraordinary  memory  and  an  excellent  judgment  ;  life  in  the 
higher  circle  of  ideas,  and  at  the  same  time  a  mind  fitted  for 
business.  We  have  already  remarked  some  of  the  wonderful 
•contrasts  in  his  character  ;  for  example,  that  he  manifested  and 
applauded,  as  a  theologian,  great  caution  in  investigating  divine 
mysteries;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  exhibited  in  many  cases 
*  Matt.  xi.  18,  19.     See  Baylc's  eulogiuui  of  Calvin's  moderation. 


a.d.  1541-GO.]    calvin's  various  endowments.  275 

the  greatest  boldness.  On  the  one  side  he  delighted  in  theory, 
and  on  the  other  was  perpetually  seeking-  its  practical  develop- 
ment. 

But  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  his  character  was  the 
union  of  a  fervent,  zealous,  susceptible  temper  with  a  habit  of 
tranquil  thought,  and  a  clear,  penetrating  understanding.  He  in- 
dignantly opposed  himself  to  wickedness  from  his  very  childhood, 
and  afforded  in  this  another  contrast  to  his  modesty,  mildness  and 
benevolence. 

The  divine  Spirit,  circumstances  and  faith,  as  the  latter  became 
formed  in  him,  gave  a  new  and  startling  direction  to  these  op- 
posite endowments.  Thus  the  feeling  was  perpetually  increased, 
that  God  had  destined  him  to  some  great  work  upon  earth, — a 
feeling  not  suddenly  formed,  but  gradually  developed. 

Proceeding  thus,  from  the  consideration  of  his  disposition,  we 
may  now  contemplate  the  development  of  his  inner  life,  as  it 
must  have  appeared  to  himself  when  he  meditated  on  his  own 
nature,  and  the  working  of  grace  in  his  soul.  In  this  respect 
we  must  recognize  his  holy  severity  as  the  first  fruits  of  God's 
spirit.  This,  his  unwonted  strictness,  indicates  where  we  must 
look  for  the  fundamental  principle  of  his  character,  and  that  is 
in  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  with  him  was  all- 
powerful.  Calvin  was  pre-eminently  a  conscientious  man  :  nei- 
ther the  understanding  nor  the  feelings  predominated  in  him. 
This  conscientiousness  exercised  the  greatest  influence  over  his 
whole  being,  which,  endowed  with  glowing  zeal,  showed  a  holy 
devotedness  to  whatever  is  good  and  right.  Hence  the  charac- 
ter of  his  religious  zeal,  which  sometimes  seems  blended  with 
obstinacy,  fanaticism  and  arrogance,  exhibits  at  the  same  time  a 
noble,  unconquerable  firmness;  a  sincere,  deep  humility;  an 
utter  self-abasement,  the  fruit  of  an  awakening  conscience. 
Thus,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  apprehended  in  him  not  so  much  the 
feelings,  the  imagination,  or  the  understanding,  as  the  con- 
science, so  the  purest  love  of  truth  exercised  the  most  remark- 
able influence  on  his  life.  This  was  the  highest  point  in  the 
development  of  his  character,  and  the  profoundest  in  his  nature. 
The  spirit  of  truth,  not  of  thought,  governed  him  in  little  things 
as  well  as  in  great,  a  matter  of  importance  in  our  judgment 
both  of  his  inward  and  outward  life.  His  heroism  displayed 
itself  in  the  season  of  struggle  ;  his  piety,  always  accompanied 
by  the  profound  feeling  of  divine  election,  in  the   inward  life,* 


276  calvin's  vehemence  of  temper.      [chap.  xx. 

his  faith  never  wavered  ;  his  feeling  of  the  nearness  of  God  never 
failed. 

With  regard  to  his  conversation,  Beza  says,  "  Earnest  and 
dignified  as  he  was,  there  has  rarely  been  a  man  whose  discourse 
and  friendly  bearing  were  more  agreeable  than  Calvin's.  He 
bore  with  wonderful  patience  the  failings  of  men,  arising  from 
their  natural  infirmity,  that  he  might  not,  by  intemperate  sever- 
ity, grieve  or  offend  the  conscience  of  the  weak  ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  he  was  far  from  sparing,  by  negligence  or  flattery; 
the  vices  of  the  wicked.  Through  his  naturally  choleric  temper, 
he  easily  yielded  to  anger;  and  his  life,  which  was  one  long 
struggle,  had  confirmed  this  failing.  He  was  himself  aware  of 
this,  and  bridled  his  feelings.  In  writing  to  Bucer,  who  ac- 
cused him  of  this  great  hastiness  of  temper,  he  says,  "  Of  all 
the  struggles  which  I  have  had  against  my  failings,  and  these 
struggles  have  been  many  and  severe,  the  greatest  has  been  that 
against  my  impatience.  My  efforts  have  not  been  wholly  vain ; 
but  still  I  have  not  yet  been  able  entirely  to  tame  this  wild 
animal."  Beza,  his  friend,  who  saw  him  in  the  most  difficult 
moments  of  his  life,  affords  him  this  rare  and  noble  testimony  : 
"  God's  Spirit  also  taught  him  to  moderate  his  anger,  that  no 
word  might  escape  his  lips  unworthy  of  a  good  man.  Still  less 
would  he  allow  his  anger  to  prompt  him  to  revenge.  It  was 
only  when  the  honor  of  God  was  in  question,  or  when  he  had 
to  contend  with  the  enemies  of  order  and  of  the  church,  that 
the  fire  streamed  over,  or  that  he  gave  his  indignation,  as  he 
then  did,  free  course."  Calvin's  Elias-zeal  exhibited  itself  in 
close  connection  with  the  gentler  qualities  of  his  character,  espe- 
cially when,  after  his  return  to  Geneva,  he  was  engaged  in  estab- 
lishing his  severe  system  of  discipline.  The  writings  which 
principally  illustrate  his  vehemence  and  anger  are  those  against 
Westphal,  Castellio,  Baldwin  and  pope  Paul  III. 

We  draw  from  the  '  Regishes  de  la  Republique'  of  the  9th 
of  July,  1547,  an  instance  of  the  complaints  made  against  him 
on  account  of  his  passion.  It.  was  necessary  for  Calvin  to  de- 
fend himself,  and  Farel,  who  had  a  good  deal  of  authority  in 
Geneva,  was  obliged  to  interfere  for  him.  ''Calvin,'' it  is  said, 
"  having  censured  from  the  pulpit  certain  disorders  with  too 
much  heat,  and  another  minister  having  said  that  the  youth  of 
Geneva  wished  to  overthrow  religion,  the  council  exhorted  them 
to  prevent  the  abuses  of  which  they  spoke,  and  not  to  proclaim 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  character.  277 

them  in  this  manner  from  the  pulpit."  On  the  12th  of  July, 
"they  replied  that  their  conscience  was  concerned  in  the  mat- 
ter, and  that  to  prohibit  their  preaching  thus,  would  be  to  de- 
prive them  of  the  liberty  of  the  ministry."  He  was  also  re- 
buked for  his  unbending-  firmness.  But  when  people  speak  of 
his  malice,  this  is  to  utter  what  is  false,  and  to  contradict  all 
that  we  know  of  his  life  and  being",  which  seemed  created  for 
friendship  and  to  promote  the  common  good  of  mankind.  Out- 
breaks of  passion  occurred  indeed  to  the  end  of  his  course,  and 
even  in  his  last  address  to  the  council  he  spoke  of  this,  and 
hoped  that  God  would  forgive  him  this  failing.  He  defended 
himself  against  the  charge  of  violence  in  his  work  against  the 
Nicomedites,  which  is  written  indeed  with  a  peculiar  severity 
and  sharpness,  strangely  in  contrast  with  what  he  intended  to 
prove. 

Morns*  rightly  observes,  that  the  most  opposite  virtues  were 
united  in  his  character.  With  great  zeal  and  vehemence  there 
was  combined  a  cheerful,  even  gay  disposition,  the  existence  of 
which  is  denied  by  those  only  who  judge  him  according  to  the 
features  of  his  pale  face,  and  not  according  to  his  words  and 
works.  "However  little  we  may  know  of  his  agreeable  conversa- 
tion, and  gentle,  familiar  bearing,  we  know  this,  on  the  report  of 
persons  worthy  of  credit,  that  he  made  no  difficulty  of  amusing 
himself  at  a  game  with  messieurs  our  magistrates  ;  but  it  was  the 
innocent  game  called  La  Clef,  the  aim  of  which  consists  in  push- 
ing a  certain  number  of  keys  as  near  as  possible  from  one  end  to 
the  other  of  a  long  table." 

It  is  an  error  very  generally  circulated,  that  Calvin  was  of  a 
melancholy  or  surly  disposition.  Thus,  in  an  article  in  the 
'  Biographies  Franchises,'  he  is  called  mi  esprit  chagrin.  Bossuet 
names  him  mi  genie  triste.  1  must  altogether  deny  the  truth  of 
this  notion.  In  the  numerous  letters  which  Calvin  wrote  at 
various  periods  of  his  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  suffer- 
ings, I  find  only  earnestness,  anger,  and  sometimes  an  indig- 
nant zeal — trust  in  God,  and  a  mild  and  friendly  nature.  As 
all  the  letters,  moreover,  written  to  him,  express  the  most 
cheerful,  child-like  confidence,  we  may  properly  ask,  how  people 
could  write  in  this  manner  to  a  man  whose  ungentle,  surly  char- 
acter was  most  likely  to  offend  and  disgust  them  ?  But  thus 
was  it  even  in  the  last  years  of  his  life,  when  he  was  honored 
by  all  as  their  father  and   patriarch.     There  was  nothing  stern, 

*  Pp.  115, 116. 


278  calvin's  christian  love.  [chap.  xx. 

formal  or  repulsive  in  his  manners.  Women  never  shrunk  from 
frequent  or  familiar  conversation  with  him  on  subjects  of  religion. 
And  that  which  will  say  still  more  in  his  favor,  his  colleagues  in 
office  often  spoke,  after  his  death,  in  terms  of  the  highest  praise 
of  his  gentleness,  and  agreeable,  loving  temper. 

Little  matters  excited  his  impatience.  For  example,  many 
people  had  the  unfairness,  in  order  to  obtain  some  specimen  of  his 
writing,  to  question  him  on  subjects  which  he  had  already  fully 
explained  in  his  printed  works.  This  sometimes  moved  him  to 
great  anger,  which  was  the  more  conspicuous,  as  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  admonishing  others  to  exercise  forbearance. 

The  following  is  a  soul-full  letter,  among  many  others,  addressed 
to  Macaire,  about  the  year  1557,  and  which  shows  what  elevated, 
noble  feelings  inspired  his  mind  for  all  true  believers: — 

"  My  dear,  my  very  beloved  brother !  If,  free  from  fear  and 
anxiety,  I  should  animate  you  and  your  brethren  in  office  to 
endure  the  strife  which  awaits  you,  my  language  would  rightly 
be  considered  cold,  and  even  disagreeable.  Distressed  however 
as  I  am  on  account  of  your  danger,  and  trembling  as  I  do  while 
exhorting  you  to  perseverance  and  trust,  this  letter,  which  is  a 
living  image  of  my  heart,  and  shows  all  its  inward  emotions, 
will  speak  to  you  no  less  clearly  than  I  could  myself  were  I  pres- 
ent, and  a  partaker  in  your  troubles.  And  certainly,  if  the 
worst  should  happen,  it  would  be  my  wish  to  be  united  with 
you  in  death  rather  than  to  survive  you,  and  have  to  weep  so 
great  a  misfortune  for  the  church.  But,  happen  what  may,  you 
know  enough  of  the  decrees  of  your  heavenly  Master,  though  I 
should  be  silent,  to  prefer  death  a  thousand  times  to  forsaking 
from  fear  the  post  to  which  He  has  appointed  you.  I  abhor 
the  infamous  charge  of  sedition  with  which  these  wretches  vilify 
not  only  you,  but  the  Gospel.  Happily  you  have  a  good  con- 
science, and  know  that  it  is  hate  only  which  excites  these  accu- 
sations against  you.  You  must,  therefore,  with  a  tranquil,  equa- 
ble spirit,  supported  by  the  testimony  of  your  innocency,  bear 
these  slanders,  slanders  which  even  the  Son  of  God  himself  could 
not  escape.  And  good  is  ii,  that  the  truth  itself,  sometimes, 
rising  out  of  darkness,  should  confute  the  wicked  falsehoods  of 
your  enemies,  while  you  yourselves  are  silent ;  since  after  the 
noise  has  been  made  lor  a  few  days,  the  clamor  will  cease  of 
itself,  and  the  authors  of  it  will  be  covered  with  shame.  Though 
the  devil  employs  all  his  efforts  to  overwhelm  you  with  hate  and 
infamy,  he  can   never  prevent  God  from  gaining  praise  for  his 


a.d.  1541-60.]         calvin's  christian  love.  279 

name  through  this  marvellous  and  noble  struggle,  or  hinder  the 
light  of  his  glory  from  shining  out  of  the  darkness.  Still,  never 
did  the  free  and  open  knowledge  of  the  faith  reach  the  ears  of 
the  king  (Henri  II.).  If  the  end  correspond  to  the  beginning, 
as  we  hope  it  may,  the  blood-red  lion,  believe  me,  will  grow  pale 
a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times.  And  though  the  flock  trem- 
ble, yet  be  not  afraid,  but  oppose  yourself  to  the  agitation  of  the 
church  with  quietness  and  resolution.  God  may,  perhaps,  restore 
peace  against  all  expectation.  If  your  patience  be  put  to  a  harder 
trial  by  the  counsels  of  your  heavenly  Father,  yet  this  stands  fast 
— that  he  is  true,  and  will  not  allow  you  to  be  tried  beyond  what 
you  are  able  to  bear." 

We  see  how  high  a  character  he  must  have  enjoyed,  ready  as 
he  thus  was  to  exhort  to  martyrdom,  while  he  himself  was  at  a 
distance,  and  not  exposed  to  the  danger. 

In  proof  of  his  sympathizing,  loving  disposition,  we  might  ad- 
duce another  letter,  written  to  the  lady  de  Cauny  on  the  death 
of  the  lady  de  Normandy.  It  shows  also  in  what  a  friendly  way 
he  interested  himself  in  the  care  of  souls,  and  we  may  regard  it 
as  a  proper  accompaniment  to  the  letter  addressed  to  Richeburg 
on  the  death  of  his  son.  His  praise  of  the  good  is  equally  worthy 
of  observation. 

The  world  has  been  accustomed  to  impute  a  stoic  coldness 
and  severity  to  his  character,  but  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  con- 
tradicts tins  imputation.  That  deep  feeling  for,  and  knowledge 
of,  the  sufferings  of  others,  which  he  derived  from  his  own  expe- 
rience, and  which  was  not  dulled  even  in  his  old  age,  are  exem- 
plified by  a  variety  of  instances  in  his  letter  to  Knox  on  the 
death  of  his  wife.  Passages  occur  even  in  the  'Institutes'  which 
prove  his  gentleness  of  spirit,  his  sympathy  with  mankind  and 
knowledge  of  the  human  heart.  Among  others  is  that  in  the 
third  book,  c.  19,  in  which  he  exclaims,  "May  God  be  con- 
tent with  the  imperfect  service  of  his  children  !"  The  letters  to 
Jacques  de  Bourgogne,  seigneur  de  Fallais,  an  old  nobleman 
descended  from  the  dukes  of  Burgundy,  may  also  be  adduced  in 
proof  of  what  we  have  said.  Interesting  on  account  of  the  form 
in  which  they  appear,  they  are  written  in  a  pleasant  flowing 
French  style,  but  the  antique  character  of  which  has  been  in 
some  degree  injured  by  the  editor:*  their  prevailing  tone  is 
that  of  an  agreeable  conversation,  mild  and  polite,  and  altogether 
free  from  rudeness  or  passion.  We  may  easily  discover  in  them 
*  Amsterdam,  1 74-1. 


280  calvin's  social  disposition.  [chap.  xx. 

the  polished  man,  who  knew  well  how  to  converse  with  the 
great ;  how  to  treat  them  with  tenderness ;  and  to  convert  every 
subject,  even  to  the  minutest  detail,  into  a  source  of  practical  in- 
struction. At  some  later  period  however  he  and  the  seigneur  were 
altogether  alienated  from  each  other  on  account  of  some  dispute 
on  a  point  of  faith. 

It  appears  from  all  these  testimonies  that  Calvin  was  distin- 
guished for  his  cheerful,  but,  at  the  same  time,  refined  and  pru- 
dent style  of  discourse.  Luther  was  distinguished  for  the  same 
excellence,  but  did  not  always  restrain  himself  from  a  ruder  mode 
of  expression.  Calvin  occasionally  indulged  in  this  style  of 
speaking,  and  even  in  the  pulpit,  but  rarely.  Some  coarse  say- 
ings of  his  have  been  preserved,  and,  as  it  were,  stereotyped  by 
his  enemies. 

No  mention  is  made  in  regard  to  Calvin  of  the  loud,  frolic 
laugh,  heard  in  the  company  of  Luther ;  he  had  however  earn- 
estly considered  the  subject  of  public  recreations  and  amuse- 
ments at  Geneva,  and  with  no  little  forbearance,  for  he  allowed, 
though  unwillingly  and  with  trouble,  the  performance  of  a  play, 
giving  thereby  much  displeasure  to  others.  This  occurrence 
took  place  in  the  year  1546.  Theatrical  representations  were 
forbidden  by  the  rules  of  discipline ;  the  only  exception  being 
in  the  case  of  a  gymnasium,  performing  a  play  as  a  scholastic 
exercise. 

That  Calvin  allowed  himself  to  indulge  in  society  at  Stras- 
burg,  appears  from  the  letter  to  Farel,  in  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
he  says  so  much  of  his  having  been  out  later  than  eight  in  the 
evening.  No  other  instance  occurs  of  this  free  life  of  Calvin. 
Beza  even  says  that  for  many  years  he  took  only  one  meal  a  day, 
and  then  only  a  very  sparing  one,  alleging  as  a  reason  the  weak- 
ness of  his  stomach. 

Calvin  suffered  much  from  bodily  sickness  at  Strasburg  :  this 
had  been  brought  on  by  his  incredible  activity,  and  the  exhaust- 
ion attending  his  zealous  labors.  But  these  sufferings,  which 
greatly  increased  in  later  years,  and  without  moderating  his 
efforts,  proved  a  source  of  great  instruction  to  him.  The  truth 
of  this  is  sufficiently  evidenced  by  the  following  letters.  In  the 
first  we  see  how  much  pleasure  he  took  in  relating  little  circum- 
stances. 

Thus,  writing  to  Farel,  he  says,  "I  answer  you  somewhat 
late,  because,  at  the  time  when  your  letter  reached  me,  weak- 
ness  prevented   my  moving  my  finger.     From  that  day  to  this 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  sickness.  281 

I  have  been  in  such  an  uncertain  state  of  mind,  that  I  could 
write  to  you  nothing  positive.  That  my  marriage  might  not 
afford  too  much  delight,  the  Lord  has  modified  our  joy,  and 
limited  it,  so  as  to  prevent  its  passing  the  proper  bounds.  On 
the  3d  of  September  1  suffered  very  grievously  from  a  head- 
ache, but  I  had  been  so  used  to  the  pain  that  it  was  not  much 
to  be  regarded.  The  following  Lord's  day,  when  I  had  become 
rather  heated  in  the  afternoon's  discourse,  I  felt  the  rheuma- 
tism in  the  head  somewhat  decreased.  Before  I  went  away  a 
catarrh  had  seized  me,  and  I  suffered  a  constant  inconvenience 
from  this  attack  till  Tuesday.  Having  to  preach  on  this  day, 
according  to  custom,  and  to  struggle  with  the  greatest  difficulty, 
for  I  could  scarcely  draw  my  breath,  and  was  dreadfully  hoarse, 
1  felt  for  once  inwardly  shaken.  The  catarrh  continued  most 
unseasonably,  for  I  was  not  yet  free  from  my  headache.  Some- 
thing too  happened  on  the  Monday  to  excite  my  gall.  My 
housekeeper,  as  it  often  happens,  spoke  more  freely  than  was 
proper,  and  said  something  to  my  brother  which  he  could  not 
patiently  bear.  He  did  not  express  his  indignation,  but  leaving 
the  house  very  quietly,  swore  that  he  would  not  return  so  long 
as  this  woman  remained  with  me.  When  she  saw  that  I  was 
very  distressed  at  the  absence  of  my  brother,  she  went  away, 
and  her  son  came  and  continued  with  me.  But  when  excited 
by  passion,  or  any  other  violent  emotion,  I  generally  forget  my- 
self if  I  be  eating,  and  swallow  my  food  with  rather  more  haste 
than  necessary.  It  happened  so  in  the  present  case.  Thus,  as 
I  had  overburdened  my  stomach  in  the  evening,  and  with  im- 
proper food,  I  was  troubled  the  next  morning  with  an  incredible 
fit  of  indigestion.  It  was  in  my  power  to  remedy  the  evil  by 
fasting,  and  this  is  my  usual  practice ;  but  to  prevent  my  ser- 
vant's son  from  supposing  that  this  was  a  cunning  invention  to 
give  him  a  dismissal,  I  sacrificed  my  health  in  order  to  avoid 
inflicting  this  pain.  On  Tuesday,  therefore,  when  the  cold  be- 
gan to  leave  me,  I  was  seized  about  nine  in  the  evening  with  a 
fainting  fit.  I  went  to  bed,  a  hard  struggle  followed,  a  strong 
fever,  and  an  extraordinary  dizziness.  On  Weduesday,  when  I 
got  up,  I  was  so  weak  in  all  my  limbs  that  I  was  compelled  to 
acknowledge  I  was  ill.  I  ate  very  little  ;  I  fainted  twice  during 
the  meal.  This  occurred  after  many  paroxysms ;  but  the  latter 
were  so  irregular  that  it  was  impossible  to  determine  from  them 
the  nature  of  the  fever.  The  perspiration  was  so  great  that  the 
mattress  on  which  I  lay  was  almost  wet  through.     Your  letter 


282  AFFAIRS    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [cHAP.  XX. 

arrived  while  I  was  thus  amused.  So  little  was  I  able  to  do 
what  you  wished,*  that  1  could  scarcely  set  three  steps.  To 
conclude  :  the  sickness  may  have  been  this  or  that,  but  it  ended 
in  a  tertian  fever,  attended  at  first  with  violent  symptoms,  but 
ivith  milder  after  the  third  day.  I  had  some  relapses,  but  they 
did  not  greatly  affect  me.  When  I  began  to  recover,  the  time 
for  visiting  you  was  over,  nor  had  I  even  then  sufficient  strength 
to  make  the  journey.  This  however  has  not  prevented  me, 
though  still  unwell,  from  considering  in  proper  time  with  Bucer 
and  Capito  what  ought  to  be  done.  Even  in  the  midst  of  my 
sickness  I  did  not  cease  to  adjure  Bucer  rather  to  set  out  alone 
than  disappoint  the  hopes  which  had  been  encouraged.  But 
though  inclined  to  do  what  he  had  promised,  he  would  have 
liked  me  to  accompany  him.  The  letter  also  of  Grynaeus,  who 
urged  him  to  promise,  under  every  circumstance,  to  come  with 
us,  if  we  were  not  united,  could  not  induce  him  to  do  so.  While 
I  was  still  bowed  down  by  bodily  weakness,  my  wife  fell  ill  of  a 
fever,  from  which  she  is  now  indeed  recovering,  but  only  through 
another  evil.  But  to  speak  the  truth,  all  this  would  not  have 
marred  our  plan,  had  not  a  greater  hindrance  been  added  to  the 
rest.  A  report  has  existed  for  the  last  fortnight,  and  continues 
to  increase,  that  the  emperor  is  coming  to  Worms,  to  be  present 
at  the  diet :  this  keeps  Bucer  back.  It  is  not  necessary  that  I 
should  take  much  trouble  in  excusing  myself,  for  I  cannot  con- 
tend with  God,  who  held  me  chained  to  my  bed,  when  the  time 
for  commencing  the  journey  arrived.  So  far  as  ray  will  is  con- 
cerned, entertain  no  doubt.  Those  who  were  present  know  well 
enough  that  I  have  often  uttered  my  complaint.  Thus  Farel'a 
hopes  are  disappointed.  But  you  and  I  must  both  of  us  exer- 
cise patience,  it  being  the  will  of  our  common  Lord  to  disappoint 
or  delay  the  fulfilment  of  our  hopes.  Let  us  believe  that  lie  can 
better  foresee  what  is  good  for  us,  than  we  can  discover  it  by  our 
guesses  and  surmises. 

"We  hear  nothing  new  here,  except  that  the  king  and  the  em- 
peror rival  each  other  in  their  rage  and  disposition  to  persecute 
the  Christians,  and  in  their  devotion  to  the  Romish  idol.  A  short 
time  back  a  Gascon  was  here,  a  person  of  some  distinction  as  it 
seemed,  for  he  kept  five  horses.  I  wrote  through  him  to  the 
queen,  and  entreated  her  in  the  most  earnest  manner  not  to  cease 
to  be  our  protectress  in  these  perilous  circumstances.  Nothing 
can  be  done  openly  in  such  unsettled  times." 

"   Fvel  wished  him  to  come  to  him. 


A.D.  1541-60.]  AFFAIRS    OF    THE    CHURCH.  283 

Some  expressions  in  the  following  letter  show  what  were  the 
feelings  excited  by  his  personal  sufferings. 

The  letter  is  addressed  to  the  lady  of  the  admiral  Coligni : — 
•■  Madam,  that  my  letter  was  sent  to  you  without  the  name  being 
added,  did  not  arise  from  my  folly  or  carelessness,  but  rather  from 
(he  haste  of  M.  de  Beza,  who  took  it  from  me  while  I  was  ill,  and 
put  it  in  the  packet  without  waiting  to  see  if  my  name  or  the 
date  were  inserted.  But  you  might  easily  guess  from  whom  it 
came,  for  my  hand  could  add  little  grace  to  the  contents.  I  will 
take  more  care  for  the  future.  For  the  rest,  madam.  I  thank 
God  that  he  has  restored  you  to  convalescence,  and  that  from  a 
sickness  which  there  was  reason  to  fear  might  prove  mortal. 
However  freed  from  anxiety  as  to  this  particular  danger,  I  have 
never  ceased  to  keep  you  in  my  memory,  for  there  is  abundant 
reason  why  both  you  and  monseigneur  the  admiral  should  be 
honored  by  all  true  servants  of  God;  in  the  number  of  which  I 
hope  to  have  a  place,  however  unworthy  of  it  I  may  be.  You 
know,  madam,  how  it  becomes  us  (o  profit  as  well  by  the  chas- 
tisements as  by  the  mercies,  which  we  receive  so  opportunely 
from  the  hand  of  our  good  Father.  It  is  certain  that  all  our  sick- 
ness ought  not  only  to  humble  us,  by  making  us  sensible  of  our 
weakness,  but  should  also  drive  us  back  upon  ourselves,  and  com- 
pel us  to  acknowledge  that,  poor  as  we  are,  our  only  refuge  is  in 
his  mercy.  And  there  are  some  which  ought  to  serve  as  medi- 
cines, to  purge  our  affections  for  the  world,  and  to  take  from  us 
that  which  is  superfluous:  and  some  are  messages  of  death  to  us, 
intended  to  teach  us  to  be  prepared  to  remove  whenever  it  shall 
please  God.  But  still  He  makes  us  continually  sensible  of  his 
goodness  and  of  his  frequent  deliverances.  It  remains  that  you 
conclude  with  St.  Paul,  however  often  we  have  been  delivered 
from  death  by  his  hand,  He  will  still  continue  to  deliver  us.  Take 
so  much  the  more  courage,  therefore,  in  devoting  yourself  to  his 
service,  knowing  as  you  do  that  it  was  for  this  that  he  has  pre- 
served you.  I  am  very  rejoiced  to  find  that  monseigneur  the 
admiral  proposes  to  go  the  first  day  that  it  is  possible.  May  the 
journey  prove  very  advantageous,  and  in  various  ways,  as  we 
pray  God  that  he  may  render  it  prosperous;  and  commending 
ourselves  humbly  to  your  good  grace,  I  will  entreat  our  God  and 
Father  to  grant  you  his  constant  protection,  to  enrich  you  with 
his  spiritual  gifts,  and  evermore  to  guide  you,  that  his  name  may 
be  glorified  in  you." 

Geneva,  August  5,  15G3. 


284  calvin's  zeal.  [chap.  xx. 

That  force  of  character  which  showed  itself  even  in  his  child- 
hood, continued  to  distinguish  Calvin  throughout  his  life.  This 
quality  occasionally  degenerated  into  harshness,  or  a  certain  de- 
gree of  severity  or  sourness  of  disposition,  but  rarely  seen  in  the 
tame,  unmarked  characters  of  the  present  day.  In  Calvin  it  de- 
veloped itself,  united  with  a  strong  sense  of  duty,  arising  from 
his  conscientious  feeling,  and  formed,  at  last,  supported  as  it  was 
by  great  energy  and  thoughtfulness,  that  which  the  Genevese 
council  named,  after  his  death,  the  majesty  of  his  character.  The 
world  has  formed  an  altogether  false  judgment  of  the  force  of 
his  character,  because  it  has  failed  to  consider  from  what  a  noble 
fountain  it  sprung,  and  how  far  it  arose  from  outward  circum- 
stances. We  are  not  intending  to  write  an  apology  for  Calvin, 
but  it  is  due  to  justice  to  remark,  that  he  rightly  regarded  it  as 
necessary,  in  those  rude  times,  to  oppose  the  obstinacy  of  his 
enemies,  by  a  bold  unflinching  earnestness.  His  keen-  under- 
standing would  probably,  in  the  present  age,  have  adopted  a  very 
different  rule  to  that  which  he  established  by  his  influence  in 
Geneva.  The  moral  power  of  his  character  was  indeed  so  great, 
that  he  would  leave  no  vice  unpunished.  He  desired  the  severe 
justice  of  the  law  to  take  its  course,  without  regard  to  persons. 
Thus  a  lady,  related  to  him,  was  condemned  by  his  advice  to  suf- 
fer a  public  punishment,  because  she  had  been  detected  in  some 
improper  proceeding.  His  character  and  judgment  were  as  a 
moral  rule  for  Geneva  and  the  whole  church. 

In  order  to  form  a  right  estimate  of  the  man,  we  must  be  care- 
ful not  to  forget  that  he  who  was  the  defender  of  a  new  theoc- 
racy, was  moved  rather  by  the  spirit  of  the  old  prophets  than 
by  the  mild  apostolic  spirit.  This  must  be  allowed,  although  he 
frequently  seems  to  unite  both  in  himself;  and,  which  should 
not  be  overlooked,  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  His  whole  life 
is  an  illustration  of  this  fact.  As  a  passing  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  the  km  nark,  we  may  appeal,  among  others,  to  a  letter 
which  he  wrote  to  the  duchess  of  Ferrara  :  it  shows  how  closely 
blended  the  two  dispositions  in  him  were;  and  how  he  spoke  of 
severity,  more  powerful  in  him  than  love,  as  a  duty.  Hatred 
to  enemies  is  expressed  in  this  letter  as  it  is  in  some  of  the 
psalms  of  David.  Another  characteristic  letter,  in  the  same 
tone,  is  that  on  the  death  of  the  duke  of  Guise,  the  enemy  of 
the  protestants,  whose  death  he  desired,  but  whose  intended 
murder  he  had  prevented.  It  shows  what  Calvin  thought  on 
praying    for  enemies;    on    the    murder  of   princes,   even  though 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  zeal.  285 

the  adversaries  of  the  church ;  and  on  an  untimely,  hasty  judg- 
ment. 

"  You  have  not  been  alone  in  your  sad  and  bitter  reflections 
on  the  horrible  troubles  which  have  occurred.  True  it  is  that 
you  are  likely  to  feel  the  misery  more  acutely  than  others,  the 
crown  to  which  you  are  so  nearly  allied  being  in  such  con- 
fusion. But  still  the  calamity  is  common  to  all  the  children  of 
God  ;  and  in  so  far  as  we  can  say  all,  so  much  the  worse  for  him 
who  is  the  author  of  the  scandal.  There  is  reason  indeed  to 
weep  and  lament,  and  so  also  that  a  good  cause  has  been  badly 
conducted.  Now,  if  the  evil  affected  all  good  people,  monsieur 
de  Guise  could  not  be  spared.  And  for  my  own  part,  as  I  have 
always  prayed  God  to  have  mercy  upon  him,  so  too  have  I  often 
desired  that  God  would  lay  his  hand  upon  him  to  deliver  his 
church,  if  it  was  not  his  will  to  convert  him.  Yet  am  I  able 
solemnly  to  protest,  that  just  before  the  war,  it  belonged  to  me 
only  to  keep  back,  by  my  exhortations,  those  active  and  deter- 
mined men  who  were  resolved  on  exterminating  him  from  the 
earth.  But  to  condemn  him  thus  is  to  proceed  too  far,  unless 
it  were  possible  to  discover  some  certain  and  infallible  mark  of 
his  reprobation  :  and  great  caution  is  necessary  here  to  guard 
us  against  presumption  and  temerity,  for  there  is  but  one  Judge 
on  the  tribunal,  before  whom  we  shall  all  have  to  give  account. 
The  second  point  seems  to  me  still  more  preposterous,  that  is, 
to  put  the  king  of  Navarre  in  paradise,  and  monsieur  de  Guise 
in  hell ;  for  if  we  compare  the  one  with  the  other,  the  former  was 
an  apostate,  and  the  latter  has  always  been  an  open  enemy  to 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  But  yet,  madam,  I  have  to  pray  you 
not  to  be  offended  at  this  expression — not  to  pray  for  a  man 
without  having  well  determined  the  form  and  quality  of  that  of 
which  we  speak.  For  however  I  may  pray  for  the  salvation  of 
any  one,  that  is  not  the  same  as  if  I  recommended  him,  in  every 
respect,  as  if  he  were  a  member  of  the  church.  We  beseech 
God  that  he  may  bring  back  into  the  good  way  those  who  are 
on  the  path  of  destruction  ;  but  that  is  not  to  put  them  on  a 
level  with  our  brethren,  or  generally  to  wish  them  all  pros- 
perity. I  will  tell  you  something,  madam,  respecting  the  queen 
of  Navarre,  very  pertinent  to  this  subject.  When  the  king,  her 
husband,  had  revolted,  the  minister  ceased  to  mention  him  in 
the  public  prayers.  Grieved  at  this,  the  queen  remonstrated 
with  the  preacher,  and  observed  that  for  the  sake  of  the  king's 
subjects    he   ought   not   to    pursue    this   course.      But   excusing 


286  calvin's  zeal  [chap.  xx. 

himself,  he  pleaded,  that  he  desired,  by  not  speaking  of  his 
majesty,  to  conceal  his  shame  and  dishonor,  for  that  he  could 
not  pray  for  him  to  God  without  praying  for  his  conversion, 
which  would  have  been  to  expose  his  fall.  If  he  should  pray 
for  his  prosperity,  this,  he  added,  would  be  to  make  a  profane 
mockery  of  prayer.  The  queen  having  heard  his  answer,  waited 
till  she  had  sought  the  opinion  of  others  in  the  matter,  and, 
finding  that  they  agreed  with  the  minister,  quietly  acquiesced  in 
their  decision." 

Calvin's  hatred  against  the  enemies  of  God,  and  his  Elias-like 
zeal,  which  he  cherished  as  a  duty,  are  seen  especially  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter.  The  subject  referred  to  concerned  the  conduct  of 
some  clergymen,  who,  according  to  the  opinion  of  the  duchess, 
had  passed  too  severe  a  judgment  on  the  duke  of  Guise.  Calvin 
undertook  their  defence,  and  says  : — 

"  Without  depending  on  the  statement  of  others,  I  see  by  your 
letter  that  affection  has  made  you  forget  that  which  would  other- 
wise have  been  sufficiently  obvious.  To  that  which  I  have  as- 
serted, that  David,  by  his  example,  instructs  us  to  hate  the 
enemies  of  God,  you  reply,  that  the  example  belonged  only  to 
those  times,  when,  according  to  the  rigor  of  the  law.  it  was 
allowed  men  to  hate  their  enemies.  Now,  madam,  this  gloss 
would  serve  to  overturn  all  Scripture,  and  we  must  therefore  avoid 
it  as  a  deadly  pestilence ;  for  we  know  that  David  surpassed  in 
goodness  the  best  that  could  be  found  in  the  present  day.  Thus 
we  hear  him  protesting  that  he  had  mourned  and  poured  forth 
many  tears  into  his  bosom  for  those  who  had  plotted  to  take  his 
life;  that  he  had  worn  sackcloth  for  them,  and  had  rendered 
them  <rood  for  evil.  So  too  we  see  that  he  was  as  tender  as  it 
was  possible  to  desire.  But  in  saying  that  he  hated  the  repro- 
bate with  a  mortal  hatred,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was 
conscious  of  a  zeal  which  was  correct,  pure,  and  properly  regu- 
lated. To  this  three  things  are  necessary  :  namely,  that  we  have 
no  regard  to  ourselves  or  our  particular  interest ;  that,  we  have 
sufficient  prudence  and  discretion  not  to  judge  too  hastily  ;  ami. 
lastly,  that  we  keep  ourselves  within  measure,  and  do  not  pass 
the  bounds  of  our  vocation.  This,  madam,  you  will  see  more 
plainly  expressed  in  many  passages  of  my  Commentary  on 
the  Psalms,  if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  consult  it.  The 
Holy  Spirit  has  indeed  given  us  David  for  a  guide,  that  we 
should  follow  his  example  in  this  respect.  And  truly  are  we 
told   I  hat   li<-   is,  as  to  this   his  ardor,  a  figure  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


a. d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  placability.  28? 

Christ.  Now,  woe  be  to  us  if  we  pretend  to  excel  in  sweetness 
and  humanity  him  who  is  the  fountain  of  pity  and  mercy.  But 
to  cut  short  all  disputes,  let  us  confess  that  St.  Paul  applies  to  all 
the  faithful  that  passage  in  which  it  is  said,  'The  zeal  of  thine 
house  hath  eaten  me  up.'  Wherefore,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when 
reproving  his  disciples  for  desiring  that  fire  might  fall  from  heav- 
en on  those  who  rejected  him,  as  Elias  had  done,  did  not  allege 
that  they  were  no  longer  under  the  law,  but  only  reminded  them 
that  they  were  not  moved  by  the  same  sentiment  as  the  prophet. 
Even  St.  John,  from  whom  only  the  word  charity  has  been  re- 
tained, shows  clearly  that  we  ought  not,  under  the  pretence  of 
love  to  mankind,  to  grow  cold  as  to  the  duty  which  we  owe  to 
the  honor  of  God  and  the  preservation  of  his  church,  for  he  for- 
bids us  even  to  salute  those,  whoever  they  may  be,  who  would 
turn  us  from  the  pure  doctrine." 

He  then  proves  that  the  spirit  of  David  was  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel ;  and  that  love  was  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  as 
severity  was  to  be  found  in  the  New  : — 

"  In  a  word,  madam,  I  earnestly  beseech  you  not  to  depend 
upon  this  distinction,  so  likely  to  deceive  you,  or  to  draw  your 
conclusions  from  the  permission  of  the  law  to  take  vengeance,  or 
to  demand  an  eye  for  an  eye.  For  it  was  forbidden  as  much 
under  the  law  as  under  the  Gospel,  seeing  that  it  is  commanded 
to  do  good  to  the  worst  of  our  enemies.  But  that  which  was 
addressed  to  the  judges,  individuals  applied  to  themselves,  and 
it  was  this  abuse  which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  correct. 
Howsoever  it  may  be,  we  agree  that  to  be  children  of  God  we 
must  conform  to  his  example,  endeavoring  to  do  good  to  those 
who  are  not  worthy  of  it,  as  he  makes  his  sun  to  shine  on  the 
evil  and  on  the  good.  Thus  hatred  and  Christianity  are  irrecon- 
cilable. Hatred  to  persons  is  contrary  to  the  love  which  we  owe 
them ;  for  this  is  to  wish,  and  even  to  promote  their  welfare ; 
and  to  nourish,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  peace  and  concord  with 
all.  Now,  if  those  who  are  charged  with  the  duty  of  suppressing 
all  enmity  and  rancor,  of  reconciling  enemies,  of  exhorting  to 
patience,  of  repressing  all  desire  of  vengeance,  are  themselves 
incendiaries,  so  much  the  worse,  and  so  much  the  less  chance  of 
excuse." 

Calvin  seems  always  to  have  forgiven,  by  principle,  when  the 
offence  was  one  of  a  personal  character,  but  never  when  it  con- 
cerned the  honor  of  God,  or  when  he  saw,  or  supposed  that  he 
saw,  an  enemy  of  God. 


288  calvin's  devotional  sentiments,      [chap.  XX. 

Senebier  rightly  observes,  that  we  know  too  liltle  of  Calvin's 
private  life.  His  friends  have  supposed  that  he  was  sufficiently 
well  known  by  his  public  proceedings,  and  his  enemies  have  em- 
ployed themselves  in  blackening  his  character.  One  of  his  ad- 
versaries was  Troillet,  who  had  been  promised  the  first  vacant 
seat  in  the  council.  Calvin  opposed  himself  to  his  election,  be- 
cause he  knew  the  unfitness  of  the  man :  this  excited  Troillet's 
bitter  hatred,  but  he  repented  of  it  on  his  death-bed,  and  desired 
Calvin  to  be  called.  Calvin  watched  over  him,  and  labored  for 
his  salvation  to  his  last  breath. 

A  woman  had  openly  vilified  Calvin,  and  called  him  a  wicked 
man,  on  account  of  his  severity.  The  council  ordered  her  to 
prison,  and  wished  to  punish  her;  but  Calvin  was  noble  enough 
to  obtain  her  pardon,  because  the  offence  was  personal  to  him- 
self. 

His  bitterest  enemy,  Ami  Perrini,  had  obliged  the  senate,  by 
his  violent  conduct,  to  deprive  him  of  his  place  as  one  of  its  mem- 
bers. He  was  also  excommunicated  ;  but  Calvin  used  his  whole 
influence  to  obtain  a  reversal  of  the  sentence,  and  he  succeeded 
in  getting  him  restored  to  his  dignity. 

In  his  preface  to  the  Psalms,  we  see  how  grieved  he  was  that 
his  enemies  would  not  improve,  but  would  so  persevere  in  their 
sin  that  he  had  at  last  to  lament  their  ruin. 

Altogether  different  was  Calvin's  conduct  in  respect  to  the 
counsellor  Ameaux,  who  had  accused  him  of  false  doctrine,  but 
was  afterwards  obliged  openly,  and  with  all  humility,  to  express 
his  repentance.  On  this  occasion,  as  on  others  of  a  similar  kind, 
Calvin  was  implacable,  because  he  saw  in  the  enemy  of  Scrip- 
ture doctrine  an  enemy  of  God.  Thus  too  he  was  irreconcilably 
offended  with  Bourgogne  (S.  de  Falais),  formerly  his  great  friend, 
but  whom  he  would  never  forgive  for  having  protected  Bolsec. 
who  had  rashly  opposed  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel. 

Hence  the  principle  of  the  Old  Testament  may  throw  light 
upon  his  whole  conduct.  There  was  a  mingling  of  the  spirit  of 
the  old  and  new  covenants  when  he  persecuted  the  enemies  of 
God ;  but  then,  when  the  Christian  spirit  prevailed  in  him,  he 
suffered,  as  in  the  case  of  Servetus,  a  dark,  vague  feeling  of 
repentance. 

But  the  great  dignity  and  majesty  of  his  character  are  espe 
cially  exhibited  in  his  predominant  feeling  of  the  holiness  of  God, 
and  in  his  tranquil  pursuit  of  one  and  the  same  end  through 
his  whole  life.      To  this  elevation  of  character  pertained  that 


a.d.  1541-GO.]      calvin's  conscientiousness.  289 

dignified  conduct  which  rejected  the  employment  of  unworthy 
means  ;  that  moderation,  rest  and  security,  which  afforded  the 
world  so  ample  an  opportunity  of  learning-  the  decision  of  his 
clear  and  thoughtful  judgment. 

Still  more  remarkably  is  his  inner  life  characterized,  and  our 
reverence  for  him  increased,  by  his  stern  conscientiousness.  All 
who  knew  him  celebrate  his  justice  and  holy  simplicity  of  soul, 
the  power  of  his  conscience  surpassing  all  the  other  powers  of 
his  nature.  It  was  this,  and  not  passion,  which  so  often  allowed 
his  zeal  to  go  too  far  in  the  pursuit  of  a  particular  end.  Thus 
his  failings  sprung  from  the  excess  of  his  virtues,— failings  which 
he  could  so  much  less  readily  discover,  because  they  easily  as- 
sumed in  his  eyes  the  form  of  virtue. 

Hence  the  force  of  his  conscience  carried  him  too  far  in  the 
three  distinguishing  tendencies  of  his  spirit;  that  is,  in  his  theo- 
logical opinions,  in  his  plans  of  church  discipline,  and  in  his 
desire  of  unity.  He  followed  out  his  thoughts  on  the  great 
mystery  of  redemption,  as  far  as  thought  only  may  go,  for  so  the 
honor  of  his  God  and  holy  Scripture  required.  In  the  same  man- 
ner he  sought  to  subject  man's  licentious  will  to  the  will  of  God. 
Hence  too  he  persecuted  heretics,  as  the  enemies  of  heaven,  the 
murderers  of  souls,  and  the  destroyers  of  the  church  of  God. 
The  study  of  Calvin's  character  in  all  these  respects  cannot  but 
have  its  use,  because  his  example  shows  how  a  man  may  err  in 
his  weakness,  even  on  the  side  of  conscience. 

Equally  characteristic  of  Calvin  was  his  conscientious  atten- 
tion to  the  least,  as  well  as  to  the  greatest,  things.  In  this  he  was 
like  all  men  of  the  loftiest  capacity.  He  was  a  Frenchman  in 
liveliness,  but  a  German  in  his  correctness  and  conscientious  ob- 
servance of  truth.  This  was  the  foundation  of  his  outward 
practical  sense,  which  was  very  remarkable  as  united  with  so 
speculative  a  mind  as  his. 

It  cannot  be  sufficiently  repeated,  that  he  reasoned  practically 
even  in  the  development  of  his  stern  system  of  election,  which 
so  many  misunderstand,  while  others  pervert  it  into  a  covering 
for  sin.  He  ever  referred  to  conscience  and  the  law.  The  union 
of  these  two  extremes  is  perhaps  the  most  wonderful  thing  in 
his  mind  :  but  the  band  of  union  consisted  in  the  pious  feel- 
ing, in  the  knowledge  of  the  holiness  of  God,  which  condemns 
all  men,  so  that  their  deliverance  can  only  be  possible  through 
his  grace.     And  this   holiness   establishes    also    the   moral  law, 

vol.  i.— 19 


290  calvin's  failings.  [chap.  xx. 

which  makes  it  the  duty  of  man  to  perform  moral  works  and  to 
strive  against  sin. 

This  indeed  does  not  free  him  from  the  objection,  that  his  doc- 
trine, however  useful  for  hearts  devoted  to  the  love  of  truth,  is 
very  perilous  for  weak,  ignorant  and  perverted  minds, — an  objec- 
tion, the  force  of  which  history,  alas  !  too  clearly  proves. 

But  the  conscientiousness  which  we  have  above  described  as 
the  most  striking  feature  of  his  character,  while  it  led  sometimes 
to  obstinacy,  and  even  fanaticism,  was  at  the  same  time  the 
source  of  his  great  moderation,  quietness  and  reflection. 

As  a  proof  of  his  moderation  in  the  sphere  of  practical  duty, 
we  may  rightly  adduce  the  fact,  that  he  did  not  expel  those 
ministers  from  Geneva  of  whose  hostile  dispositions  he  was  so 
well  aware,  and  to  whom  his  own  exile  might  be  attributed, 
though  at  the  period  to  which  we  allude  the  power  to  do  so 
was  in  his  own  hands.  He  also  showed  much  moderation  in 
respect  to  Luther,  when  he  appealed  to  Bullinger  to  pardon 
his  impetuosity.  This  was  the  case  at  first  even  in  regard  to 
Joachim  Westphal,  whom  he  answered  only  on  his  third  attack, 
when  this  unchristian  pastor  would  not  allow  the  protestants, 
driven  out  of  England,  to  land  either  in  Denmark  or  Germany, 
and  vilified  them  under  the  name  of  Sacramentarians.  Calvin's 
indignation  against  him  sprung  only  from  sound  Christian,  but 
still  excited,  feelings. 

Passages  sufficiently  numerous  may  be  found  in  his  writings 
against  hardness  and  impatience.  In  reference  to  Westphal  and 
his  party,  who  manifested  such  intolerance  against  him  and  the 
reformers,  Calvin  expresses  himself  more  severely  than  in  other 
instances,  and  shows  his  need  of  patience.* 

The  controversy  with  Westphal  seems  to  have  exercised  a 
favorable  influence  on  Calvin's  character.  He  had  in  this  case 
to  do  with  a  man  of  violent  passions,  who  had  inflicted  an  in- 
justice upon  him.  All  the  failings  peculiar  to  Calvin  were  ex- 
aggerated, so  that  the  latter  had  occasion  to  consider  the  hate- 
fulness  of  such  defects,  and  to  reflect  on  the  nature  of  anger 
and  impatience.  He  repeatedly  confessed  his  failings  in  this 
controversy,  though  not  yet  overcoming  them;  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  attained,  in  this  manner,  to  a  higher  degree  of  sclf- 

*  Opusc.  p.  1829.  "  Ainsi  done  j'adverti  que  les  vrais  serviteurs  de  Dieu  ont  ii 
se  garder  a.  prendre  a  la  volea  la  defense  d'une  cause  incojjnue,  ou  d'estre  transportos 
de  Bcvcrito  excessive." 


A.D.   1541-60.]  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  291 

knowledge,  confessing  as  he  did  upon  his  death-bed,  and  with 
sincere  repentance,  his  too  great  impetuosity. 

He  also  freely  confesses  that  he  was  often  carried  too  far,  and 
that  against  his  will,  observing,  as  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  a 
man's  indiscretion  will  frequently  urge  him  on  in  spite  of  his 
will.  He  cannot,  as  it  were,  do  otherwise  :  he  is  driven  forward 
by  a  tempestuous  wind.  Partial  judges  however  would  not  im- 
pute to  Calvin  the  failings,  to  the  force  of  which  he  apparently 
yielded  against  his  will.  But  so  little  conscious  was  he,  in  many 
cases,  of  his  impetuosity  and  arrogance,  we  might  almost  say  his 
insolence,  that  he  could  observe,  "  It  is  easy  for  Master  Joachim 
to  object  to  me,  that  my  language  is  seasoned  with  a  black  salt 
of  vain  and  tasteless  pleasantry,  and  with  the  biting  asperity  of 
a  calumniator.  If  I  ought  to  be  called  a  slanderer,  because  I 
have  afforded  Master  Joachim,  so  blinded  by  his  vices,  a  mirror, 
by  the  help  of  which  he  may  at  length  begin  to  know  his  own 
shame,  he  must  address  his  complaints  to  the  prophets,  to  the 
apostles,  and  to  Christ  himself,  who  did  not  scruple  sharply  to  re- 
prove the  adversaries  of  holy  doctrine,  when  they  were  seen  to 
be  proud  and  obstinate. 

"We  are  quite  agreed,"  he  adds,  "  that  injurious  expressions, 
and  foolish  pleasantries,  are  little  becoming  of  Christians.  But 
since  even  the  prophets  did  not  refrain  altogether  from  the  use 
of  reproaches,  and  Christ  employed  very  sharp  expressions  in 
rebuking  deceivers  and  false  teachers,  and  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
continually  assails  such  persons,  crying  against  them  without 
ceasing,  so  is  it  a  foolish  and  thoughtless  thing  to  question 
whether  it  be  lawful  to  reprove,  sternly,  boldly,  and  with  a  good 
heart,  those  who  have  justly  exposed  themselves  to  blame  and 
infamy." 

In  comparing  Calvin  with  Luther,  who  frequently  spoke  in 
his  own  favor  with  dignity,  it  is  interesting  to  find  the  former 
doing  the  same  thing;  the  expressions  which  he  employed,  con- 
sidering his  position,  having  a  certain  degree  of  elegance  and 
majesty.  Thus  he  says : — ■*'  Westphal  will  never  be  an  orator 
eloquent  enough  to  make  it  be  believed,  that  I  am  a  mere  babbling, 
fanciful  haranguer ;  for  all  the  world  knows  that  my  writings  are 
characterized  by  a  cautious  brevity,  and  that  I  invariably  keep 
to  the  point  which  I  have  undertaken  to  discuss.  .  .  .  When  I 
say  that  I  devote  myself  faithfully  to  the  task  of  inducing  all 
men  to  depend  upon  the  mouth  of  Christ  alone,  I  can  produce, 
as   witnesses  to  the  truth  of  this,  not  only  my  books  and  my 


292  calvin's  defence.  [chap.  xx. 

ordinary  sermons,  but  those  who  see  me  every  day,  and  who 
could,  were  it  necessary,  afford  a  still  stronger  testimony  to  the 
correctness  of  my  assertion.  And  with  regard  to  God,  so  grandly 
has  he  sealed  my  labors  with  his  benedictions,  that  were  ten 
Westphals  there,  the  fruit  and  the  profit  ought  not  to  seem  to 
them  contemptible.  Now  when  I  speak  in  this  approving  way 
of  my  vocation,  I  do  but  follow  the  example  of  St.  Paul."* 
When  a  man  can  venture  to  say  such  things  in  the  face  of  the 
world,  he  must  have  a  good  conscience,  and  be  well  assured  of 
his  own  greatness. 

A  letter  written  by  Calvin,  April  13,  155G,  to  Peter  Faber,  a 
young  man  who  placed  implicit  confidence  in  him,  and  whom 
Calvin  warned  and  encouraged,  throws  great  light  on  those 
times  when  Calvin's  bitterness  of  feeling  began  to  show  itself. 
"Although  some,"  he  says,  "whose  minds  have  been  cultivated 
by  the  liberal  sciences,  may  perhaps  love  me,  understand  this, 
that  such  a  hatred  has  been  excited  against  me  in  almost  the 
whole  world,  that  many  are  terrified  at  the  notion  of  forming  a 
friendship  with  me."t  Such  a  conviction  must  indeed  have 
greatly  excited  him,  and  explains  many  circumstances  connected 
with  his  feelings  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life.  Surrounded  by  so 
many  enemies,  and  so  fearfully  belied  by  all  the  world,  we  may 
easily  conceive  how  the  mightiest  and  most  thoughtful  spirit 
must  sometimes  have  been  forced  from  its  equilibrium. 

A  justification  and  a  confession  may  be  traced  in  the  following 
excellent  letter,  in  which  he  speaks  openly  of  his  zeal  and  his 
vehemence.  The  letter  is  directed  to  a  friend,  who  had  probably 
blamed  him  for  his  severity  towards  Castellio. 

"That  we  have  been  so  long  without  writing  must  be  laid  to 
my  charge  ;  and  I  do  not  deny  that  I  have  been  purposely  silent, 
in  order  that  I  might  avoid  involving  myself  in  useless  strifes ; 
for  we  are  aiming  indeed  at  the  same  end,  but  differ  in  nature 
and  character  more  than  I  could  wish.  I  know  well  what  you 
think,  and  probably  say,  of  me;  nor  am  I  so  self-conceited  as 
not  to  regret  the  many  failings  which  you  find  in  me;  of  this 
I  can  bring  undoubted  proof;  but  still  there  are  other  sides  of 
my  character  which  I  should  not  desire  to  see  altered  ;  for  we 
not  only  naturally  differ  from  each  other,  but  I  have  knowingly 
and  of  set  purpose  chosen  a  way  for  myself  altogether  opposite 
to  your  notions.  If  mildness  be  agreeable  to  you,  I  say  nothing 
against  it ;  but  if  I  appear  too  stern  in  your  eyes,  I  wish  you  to 

*  Op.  p.  1799,  1800,  1801.  t  EP-  225. 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  defence.  293 

understand,  that  necessity  has  imposed  this  character  upon  me. 
In  the  mean  time,  you  ought  not  to  forget,  how  much  your  too 
easy  complacency  injures  the  church,  giving  as  it  does  such 
license  to  the  wicked,  and  bringing  virtue  and  vice  into  such 
close  contact  that  the  white  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the 
black. 

''Whilst  that  excellent  man  (Castellio)  is  making  it  his  ob- 
ject to  overturn  the  surest  foundations  of  faith,  he  has  no  feeling 
of  shame  in  associating  with  the  basest  and  the  most  vicious. 
The  God  of  Calvin  is  a  liar  and  a  hypocrite,  double-tongued, 
the  author  of  all  crimes,  the  enemy  of  what  is  right  and  good, 
and  more  wicked  than  the  devil  himself.  Why  should  I  com- 
plain that  you  act  in  an  unfriendly  manner  towards  me?  I 
know  well  enough  that  you  have  no  desire  to  defend  the  shame- 
ful and  vulgar  barking  of  this  filthy  hound.  But  I  would  rather 
a  thousand  times  that  the  earth  should  swallow  me  up,  than  that 
I  should  fail  to  hearken  to  that  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  dic- 
tated, and  commanded  me,  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophets,  or 
that  the  guilt  of  casting  a  stain  on  the  sacred  majesty  of  God 
should  ever  fall  back  upon  my  own  head.  And  do  you  accuse 
me  then  of  passion,  because,  from  regard  to  truth  and  faithful- 
ness, I  defend  a  thing  which  I  could  not  give  up  without  treach- 
ery and  falsehood  ?  O  would  that  so  idle  a  word,  one  which 
makes  me  blush  for  you,  because  it  is  unworthy  of  a  Christian 
man,  had  never  fallen  from  your  lips  !  If  there  be  but  a  spark  of 
piety  in  us,  so  disgraceful  an  affair  must  certainly  kindle  in  our 
hearts  the  fire  of  the  most  violent  indignation.  As  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  I  would  rather  rave  than  not  be  angry.  You  will 
see  how,  sooner  or  later,  you  must  give  an  account  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  an  almighty  Judge.  I  now  utter  with  far  greater  right, 
with  a  far  better  assurance  and  confidence  against  you,  that  ac- 
cusation which  two  years  ago  you  brought  against  me,  when  you 
said  jestingly,  in  the  presence  of  others,  that  I  was  a  disciple  of 
Cicero  rather  than  of  Christ." 

Of  the  wicked  man  who  deceived  him  he  says,  "  I  exclaim 
with  the  prophet,  What  is  lost,  let  it  be  lost.  'And  are  you  so 
tranquil?' you  ask.  Yes!  I  am  not  the  less  anxious  however 
about  his  salvation,  nor  sorrow  less  at  his  misery,  than  if  I  lulled 
him  to  sleep  with  flattering  complacency.  Often  must  you  have 
heard  that  God  hates  a  cruel  pity,  and  that  it  is  the  very  plague 
of  the  church.  I  see  how  severe  my  letter  appears,  and  I  have 
been  ten  times  on  the  point  of  tearing  it  to  pieces.     But  I  could 


294  CALVIN  S    CHARACTER.  [CHAP.  XX. 

not  persuade  myself  to  conceal  what  oppressed  my  soul,  and  if 
I  did  otherwise  you  would  scarcely  account  me  a  friend.  Con- 
sider, moreover,  that  through  the  mass  of  business  which  I  have 
to  perform,  I  have  naturally  become  a  little  irritable." 

Morus  says  very  properly  of  him,*  "  His  holy  zeal  was  a 
righteous  one,  and  it  is  our  drowsiness  only  which  has  provoked 
his  Christian  indignation,  his  tumultuous  and  stormy  feeling  of 
duty.  And  what  remains  for  the  Christian  if  he  will  not  u»e  the 
sword?  It  is  not  by  soft  remedies  that  he  could  heal  the  wounds 
of  Zion.  He  would  not  have  gained  his  end,  and  it  would  have 
been  objected  to  him,  'If  you  are  not  yourself  convinced  in 
your  whole  soul,  why  do  you  disturb  the  existing  order  of 
things?'" 

Connected  with  this  zeal  was  that  extraordinary  firmness,  so 
many  examples  of  which  we  meet  with  in  his  life,  and  which 
affords  such  admirable  proofs  of  the  grandeur  of  his  character. 
By  nature  shy  and  timid,  the  power  of  God  had  raised  him 
above  the  fear  of  man.  His  contempt  of  the  world  is  finely 
illustrated  in  his  letters  to  Melancthon,  and  the  queen  of  Na- 
varre. We  quote  here  one  admirable  passage,  showing  his 
cheerful  disposition  in  his  old  age,  and  when  he  was  alone  on 
the  field  of  strife.  "It  is  our  duty  to  fight  so  much  the  more 
valiantly,  when  we  are  under  the  eye  of  the  great  Judge  of  com- 
bats, of  him  who  dwelleth  in  the  highest  heavens.  What !  that 
holy  and  sacred  band  of  angels,  who  promise  us  their  favor, 
will  they  leave  us  without  strength  to  drag  our  limbs  to  the  ap- 
pointed place  ?  And  all  that  company  of  holy  fathers,  will  they 
not  help  to  urge  us  on?  Still  more,  the  church  of  God  which  is 
in  this  world,  and  which  we  know  strives  with  us  by  prayer, 
and  is  encouraged  by  our  example,  shall  its  voice  and  its  sym- 
pathy have  no  weight  with  us?  Let  this  then  be  my  theatre  ; 
with  the  approbation  which  it  accords  me  I  shall  be  more  than 
satisfied,  though  all  the  world  should  tear  me  in  the  face.  But 
if  I  never  lose  my  courage,  yet  must  I  be  jealous  of  their  foolish 
applauses,  and  shrink  from  being  perfumed  with  the  glory  of  a 
night  passed  in  their  gloomy  holes."  What  was  still  more  re- 
markable in  this  extraordinary  man,  the  most  amiable,  the  purest 
humility  became  reconciled  in  his  character  with  anger,  vehe- 
mence, fanaticism,  and  even  arrogance, — with  a  nature,  if  one  may 
say  so  much  against  him,  often  sour  and  too  disputatious.  Nu- 
merous proofs  exist  that  his  humility  was  sincere,  that  it  was  a 
*  Morus.  119,  21,  22. 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  humility.  295 

work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  yea,  a  fundamental  principle  in  his 
whole  doctrine  and  life ;  for  his  conscience  taught  him  the  misery 
and  the  condemnation  of  man,  and  his  heart  was  impressed 
thereby  with  a  feeling  of  the  profoundest  grief. 

The  following  passage  will  illustrate  our  meaning,  and  show 
in  the  clearest  manner  that,  God  be  praised,  he  was  free  from 
spiritual  pride.  It  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  convert  the  rage  of 
his  enemies  into  admiration.  A  letter  of  Calvin's  writing  is 
found  in  Crespin's  History  of  the  Martyrs  :  it  is  addressed  to  the 
heroic  believers,  who  had  sent  him  an  account  of  their  creed, 
with  the  question,  whether  it  was  correct,  or  whether  he  saw  in  it 
aught  to  alter.  He  says,  "I  do  not  send  you  such  a  a  confession 
of  faith  as  our  good  brother  inquired  of  me,  for  God  will  render 
that  which  He  enables  you  to  frame,  according  to  the  will  of  the 
spirit  imparted  to  you,  far  more  profitable  than  any  which  might 
be  suggested  to  you  by  others.  Even  when  desired  by  some  of 
our  brethren,  who  shed  their  blood  for  the  glory  of  God,  to  revise 
and  correct  the  Confession  which  they  had  made,  I  was  very 
glad  to  see  it,  that  I  might  receive  edification  therefrom  ;  but  I 
would  not  add  or  diminish  a  single  word,  thinking  that  any 
alteration  would  but  have  diminished  the  authority  and  efficacy, 
which  ought  to  be  attributed  to  the  wisdom  and  constancy  which 
plainly  proceed  from  the  spirit  of  God." 

Every  one  will  feel  how  greatly  this  inquiry  of  the  poor 
Christians,  suffering  imprisonment  for  the  sake  of  the  Gospel,  did 
honor  to  Calvin.  They  considered,  that  they  could  look  to  no 
greater  authority,  for  the  correction  of  the  formulary  of  their 
faith  to  be  laid  before  the  judges.  How  amiable  does  this  great 
man  appear  in  the  fulness  of  his  humility,  when  he  expresses 
himself  only  anxious  for  the  truth,  and  answers  with  profound 
simplicity,  that  he  yields  himself  to  the  enlightened  spirit  of  the 
inquirers,  and  hopes  to  learn  from  them.  And  yet  this  is  the 
man  whom  the  world  accuses  of  ambition,  of  pride,  and  even  a 
papistical  love  of  power, — the  man  who  constructed  a  system  in 
which  thought  was  pre-eminent  over  all.  We  have  here  indeed 
an  attractive  instance  of  the  contrast  between  the  humility  of  the 
simple,  enduring  Christian,  and  the  great  teacher,  a  proof  of  the 
deep  feeling  which  Calvin  cherished  for  the  authority  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  of  the  subjection  and  tenderness  with  which  he 
went  to  work  in  the  things  of  belief.  When  he  speaks  of  his 
exertions  for  the  church,  they  are  most  modestly  described  in 
general  terms  as    "  a  little  labor."      It    was   thus  he  spoke  on 


296  calvin's  humility.  [chap.  xx. 

his  death-bed,  though  in  other  respects  he  was  fully  aware  of  the 
greatness  and  importance  of  his  work. 

Lastly,  he  calls  himself  an  unworthy  servant  of  God,  and  in 
his  case  such  words  were  not  spoken  without  meaning. 

This  was  indeed  a  main  quality  both  in  Calvin,  and  in  all  the 
reformers  ;  they  strove  not  for  a  vain  honor,  but  for  the  honor 
of  God.  Had  they  desired  their  own  elevation,  and  sought  to 
satisfy  a  spirit  of  ambition  or  love  of  rule,  they  would  have  been 
no  reformers.  We  have  noticed  his  affection  for  Melancthon. 
A  similar  disposition  appears  in  his  intimacy  with  Farel,  whose 
merits  he  recognized  with  humble  admiration,  as  he  did  Viret's 
and  Beza's.  The  latter  surpassed  him  in  learning  and  eloquence, 
and  he  invited  him  to  Geneva  as  rector  of  the  new  academy, 
setting  him  in  a  higher  position  than  his  own,  which  was  only 
that  of  a  professor. 

These  are  rare  examples  of  magnanimity.  The  heart  in  such 
trifling  things  can  with  difficulty  conquer  its  vanity,  and  keeps 
open  a  little  door  whereby  to  escape,  under  pretence  of  reserving 
itself  for  grander  sacrifices.  Those  who  best  know  the  human 
mind,  and  those  who  are  aware  of  the  influence  which  ambition 
exercises  on  the  noblest  souls,  will  best  appreciate  the  value  of 
this  praise.  If  any  one  is  proud  of  having  had  friends,  let  him 
compare  his  case  with  that  of  this  celebrated  man.  While  he 
never  envied  others,  so  neither  did  he  awaken  it  in  any  of  his 
associates. 

The  following  remarkable  passage  occurs  in  the  state  register 
of  February  29,  1580,  that  is  sixteen  years  after  his  death.  It 
shows  what  species  of  influence  he  exercised,  and  proves  not  only 
the  respect  entertained  for  his  genius,  but  that  he  stood  too  high 
to  excite  the  envy  of  his  brethren.  They  would  elect  no  succes- 
sor to  Calvin  in  the  office  of  president  of  the  consistory.  Thus  it 
is  said,  "  The  ministers  allege  as  a  reason  for  suppressing  the 
presidency,  that  the  devil  created  schisms  in  the  church,  by  the 
establishment  of  different  degrees  and  dignities  among  the  pas- 
tors ;  that  his  devices,  commencing  with  little  things,  should  be 
prevented  by  timely  caution ;  that  God  had  raised  up  the  late  Mr. 
Calvin,  a  person  of  great  merit,  in  this  church,  and  had  endowed 
him  with  numerous  and  especial  graces,  so  that  by  the  veneration 
which  he  had  excited,  he  was  seen  with  pleasure  acting  as  presi- 
dent, though  never  elected  to  the  office." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

calvin's  love  op  truth,  the  fountain  of  his  inner 
life. — his  sense  of  piety. — struggles  and  extraor- 
dinary nature  of  the  two  reformers. 

Calvin's  life  and  conduct  would  never  have  awakened  such  a 
feeling  of  respect  among  his  friends,  nor  left  such  an  impression 
of  the  worth  and  majesty  of  his  character,  if  that  genuine  love 
of  truth  which  God's  spirit  had  given  him  had  not  formed  the 
foundation  of  his  character.  The  deeper  we  look  into  his  nature, 
the  clearer  we  perceive  that  this  was  the  source  and  the  impulse 
of  all  his  activity,  and  that  even  when  he  erred.  It  was  with 
him  a  strong  love,  a  passion,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  love  of 
science,  the  love  of  the  world,  or  of  honor,  is  with  others.  His 
life  was  not  derived  from  thought  or  reflection,  as  has  been  erro- 
neously supposed,  but  from  the  spirit  of  truth.  And  as  Luther 
never  said  to  himself  that  he  would  undertake  a  reformation,  or 
formed  any  plan  for  such  a  purpose,  but  merely  followed  the 
impulse  of  the  divine  Spirit,  without  knowing  whither,  so  neither 
did  Calvin  ever  say  to  himself  that  he  would  establish  the 
reformation,  but  this  its  accomplishment  arose  from  his  holy 
devotion  to  truth.  Like  Luther's,  his  inner  life  was  prayer,  not 
reflection.  Hence  I  must  protest  against  the  last  opinion  pro- 
nounced upon  him  in  France,  in  which  it  is  said,*  "  The  domi- 
nant feature  in  his  character  was  a  doctorial  despotism,  a  certain 
manner  of  governing  by  means  of  the  religious  ideas  which  he 
had  cast  into  society."  And  of  the  result  of  his  life  :  "  His  reform 
was  wholly  a  governmental  reform."  t  According  to  this  author, 
who  evidently  knows  nothing  of  Calvin's  faith,  the  reformer 
encouraged  the  idea  that  he  wished  to  govern  and  regulate  the 
world  by  means  of  a  religious  system.  True  it  is,  that  Calvin 
established  the  reformation  ;  but  no  sign  exists  that  he  formally 
contrived  and  planned  this  as  the  work  of  his  own  head,  or  as 
his  modern  critic  would  have  us  believe  he  did.  He  had  not 
the   faculty    for   this,    but  he   had   infinitely   more   spirit,    more 

"x  Repertoire  des  Connaissances  TJsuelles  :  art,  Calvin. 

\  This  notion  has  become  stereotyped,  and  writers  copy  it  one  from  another,  as 
formerly  the  slanders  of  Bolsec. 


298  calvin's  zeal  for  truth.  [chap.  xxi. 

conscience  and  more  faith.  Hence  the  necessity  to  hold  fast  by 
this,  that  whatever  he  did  had  its  origin  in  his  devout  spirit,  living 
and  wrestling  with  God  in  prayer,  in  the  same  manner  as  his 
system  of  belief  and  struggles  for  unity  may  also  be  attributed  to 
that  source.  When  he  persecuted  Servetus,  it  was  not  from 
revenge,  from  wrath,  from  reasoning,  from  envy,  but  from  a 
religious  zeal  for  the  truth.  This  is  now  little  understood. 
His  holy  anxiety  for  the  Gospel  is  described  as  "  a  vindictive, 
persecuting  spirit."  Against  this  judgment  every  reader  of  his 
life  will,  1  think,  protest.  Passion,  anger,  combined  with  dia- 
lectic power,  may  be  looked  for  in  him,  and  traces  thereof  will 
be  continually  discovered ;  but  not  the  least  indication  will  ap- 
pear, either  in  his  writings  or  his  letters,  that  he  planned  his 
great  work  by  himself  or  with  others,  through  the  processes  of 
formal  reflection.  Could  he,  who  imparted  everything  to  his 
friends,  have  kept  concealed  for  thirty  years,  in  the  depths  of 
his  soul,  the  grand  idea  of  his  life?  On  the  contrary,  we  see 
that  everything  with  him  was  brought  into  life  by  the  influence 
of  circumstances,  for  he  desired  nothing  but  truth,  and  truth 
necessarily  sought  the  possession  of  the  prize.  The  subtle  crit- 
ics of  Calvin  may  suggest  the  idea,  that  the  unchangeableness 
of  his  belief  was  only  a  mask,  and  that  he  would  retract  nothing 
in  order  to  secure  admiration  as  a  reasoner.  But  this  is  an 
opinion  which  an  understanding,  submitting  itself  to  holy  Scrip- 
ture, can  hardly  conceive  or  comprehend.  It  cannot  suppose 
that  Providence  would  send  forth  a  body  of  extraordinarily 
organized  teachers,  who  in  a  time  of  excitement  and  revolution 
should  be  allowed  to  exclaim,  "Q,uos  ego."  Love  and  inspira- 
tion, according  to  this,  would  not  have  been  possible  for  men  of 
powerful  understanding ;  yet  we  can  lovingly  embrace  the  spirit, 
but  never  cold  and  speculating  thought. 

But  every  truth-loving  Christian  must  feel  even  still  greater 
indignation,  against  the  unworthy  judgment  pronounced  upon 
him  in  the  last  history  of  Geneva.  It  is  one  of  the  latest  proofs 
of  the  unbridled,  licentious  manner  in  which  the  French  people, 
who  live  without  faith  in  the  church,  judge  their  greatest  bene- 
factors. The  author  acknowledges  Ualvin'a  great  abilities,  iu 
many  respects  even  his  pure  intentions,  his  magnanimity,  and 
does  not  intend  to  write  as  his  antagonist,  but  as  an  impartial 
historian.  Still  he  takes  the  side  of  the  libertines,  the  enemies 
of  Calvin,  and  judges  from  their  standing-place  respecting  the 
great    struggle  for   light  and  righteousness.     He  knows  nothing 


A.D.  1541-60.]       OPINIONS    RESPECTING    CALVIN.  299 

of  Calvin's  piety  and  faith,  but,  animated  himself  by  a  pretended 
liberal  spirit,  he  falsely  imputes  the  same  to  Calvin.  He  ex- 
amines neither  his  theological  writings  nor  his  letters,  and  con- 
cerns himself  little  about  his  personal  history.  Calvin's  father, 
for  example,  was  "  Procureur  fiscal,"  but  Thourel  rhetorically 
writes,  "  In  the  course  of  this  year  arrived  the  son  of  the  cooper 
of  Noyon." 

In  the  second  volume  he  says,  "Calvin  had  a  mind  as  tyran- 
nical as  elevated.  He  appropriated  to  himself  the  principles  of 
Zwingli,  and  set  them  forth  with  some  modifications.  He 
trusted  to  his  powers  of  mind,  and  proposed  to  establish  a  system 
which  should  bear  his  name."  Now  I  leave  to  every  reader  to 
form  his  judgment  of  these  errors.  Again,  the  people  are  said 
to  have  recalled  Calvin  from  Strasburg  "  only  from  their  admi- 
ration of  his  eloquence."  "  Thus  he  found  himself  in  a  position 
a  thousand  times  more  favorable  to  his  projects.  He  often  took 
advantage  of  it  with  little  generosity."  Our  author  even  accuses 
him  of  celebrating  a  species  of  auto  da  fe  for  the  new  faith. 
"  That,"  he  adds,  "  which  ought  to  have  been  a  reform,  became 
a  religion.  At  Geneva  Calvin  did  for  Lutheranism  what  Luther 
had  done  for  Catholicism."  Whereas  it  is  known  that  Zwingli 
and  Farel  had  introduced  the  more  simple  worship  before  the 
appearance  of  Calvin,  whose  views  were  directed  to  higher 
objects.  "  These  labors,"  continues  Thourel,  "  hastened  the  pro- 
gress of  reform,  by  placing  in  his  hands  all  the  lines  of  spiritual 
power.  Whatever  important  affair  might  be  brought  forward, 
Calvin  was  consulted.  He  was  an  oracle  in  every  question  of 
dogmatic  controversy,  and  his  immense  correspondence  termi- 
nated by  centralizing  at  Geneva  whatever  pertained  to  religion. 
This  species  of  moral  dictatorship  failed  not  to  render  him  more 
active  in  his  vengeance  ;  but  he  had  the  cleverness  to  conceal  his 
despotism  under  an  appearance  of  austerity  and  simplicity." 
Thus  our  author  supposes  that  he  was  but  acting  a  play  by 
living  so  poor  and  humbly.  As  a  skilful  political  tyrant,  he 
knew  how  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  people  ;  and  yet  this 
writer  calls  him  a  great  man  ;  speaking,  however,  as  it  would 
seem,  by  a  mere  rhetorical  turn,  or  according  to  the  every-day 
practice  of  calling  every  egotist  a  great  man  who  may  have  the 
luck  to  outwit  the  world.  "Thus  when  Calvin,"  he  continues, 
"  had  burnt  or  beheaded  his  opponents  in  theology,  and  banished 
his  rivals  in  politics,  he  retained  the  supreme  power  in  his  own 
hands."     According  to  this,  he  must  have  been  one  of  the  vilest 


300  OPINIONS    RESPECTING    CALVIN.  [ciIAP.  XXI. 

of  characters  ever  described  in  history ;  being  tempted,  that  is, 
to  every  species  of  wickedness,  to  treachery,  murder,  and  the 
worst  ambition,  by  the  mere  dictation  of  policy.  And  yet  this 
same  writer  has  greatly  exalted  him  ;  the  statement  that,  "Cal- 
vin's true  glory  consisted  in  giving  the  seal  of  republicanism  to 
Geneva,"  explaining  the  reason  of  the  compromise. 

But  the  statement  referred  to  is  altogether  false  :  Calvin  was 
no  politician,  and  Geneva  was  republican  before  his  time.  What 
he  in  reality  gave  to  the  little  state  were  the  elements  of  a  theoc- 
racy, a  holy  faith,  pure  morals,  and  a  strict  love  of  order,  the 
very  life  of  political  existence. 

Another,  and  a  very  different,  historian  of  Switzerland,  who 
combines  with  proofs  of  the  profoundest  study,  the  clearest  his- 
torical views,  passes  a  far  worthier  judgment  on  the  reformer. 
He  considers  him  indeed  not  from  a  religious,  but  from  an 
historical  point  of  view,  and  even  with  a  predisposition  in  favor 
of  the  Catholic  church  ;  yet  he  nobly,  though  not  altogether  com- 
prehending him,  bears  testimony  to  his  worth.  "John  Calvin," 
he  says,  "had  the  spirit  of  an  old  lawgiver;  he  had  a  genius  and 
qualities  which  endowed  him  on  the  one  side  with  indisputable 
excellences,  and  he  had  failings  which  were  only  those  virtues 
in  excess,  by  which  he  carried  out  and  completed  his  work. 
Like  the  other  reformers,  he  exhibited  an  unwearied  diligence  in 
the  firm  pursuit  of  a  single  object,  an  inflexible  firmness  in 
principle  and  duty,  and  both  in  his  life  and  death  the  earnestness 
and  dignity  of  an  old  Roman  censor.  He  very  greatly  promoted 
the  freedom  of  Geneva,  his  influence  often  giving  harmony  to 
the  otherwise  discordant  elements  of  its  government.  Through 
his  position  and  discourse,  he  aided  the  progress  of  the  human 
mind  far  more  than  he  himself  supposed.  Among  the  Genevese, 
and  in  France,  the  principles  of  free  discussion,  upon  which  he 
was  obliged  at  first  to  depend,  and  which  he  afterwards  sought  in 
vain  to  limit,  produced  much  more  important  consequences  tban 
in  other  nations,  less  inquisitive  than  the  Genevese,  and  not  so 
bold  as  the  French.  Hence,  by  degrees,  were  evolved  those 
philosophical  ideas,  which,  although  not  sufficiently  free  from  the 
passions  and  designs  of  their  authors,  were  sufficient  to  banish  a 
mighty  host  of  dark  and  shameful  prejudices,  and  to  open  for  the 
future  a  brighter  prospect,  the  hope  of  happiness,  founded  on  the 
genuine  wisdom  of  social  life." 

In  the  same  manner  another  distinguished  historian,  famed 
for  his  comprehensive  mind  and  powerful  judgment,    and    who, 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  sincerity.  301 

like  Von  Miiller,  views  Calvin  in  an  historical  light,  thus  bears 
worthy  testimony  to  the  greatness  of  the  reformer:* — "Calvin 
was  not  only  a  profound  theologian,  but  also  an  able  legislator. 
The  part  which  he  took  in  framing  the  civil  and  religious  laws, 
which  have  been  the  happiness  of  Geneva  for  so  many  centuries, 
gives  him  perhaps  a  higher  title  to  glory  than  his  theological 
works ;  and  that  republic,  celebrated,  notwithstanding  its  small- 
ness,  which  has  united  morality  to  knowledge,  riches  to  simpli- 
city, simplicity  to  taste,  liberty  to  order,  and  which  has  been  a 
nursery  for  talent  and  virtue,  has  well  proved  how  deeply  ac- 
quainted Calvin  was  with  the  nature  of  man,  and  the  art  of  gov- 
ernment." 

We  refer  again  to  his  love  of  truth,  thus  clearly  displayed  in 
the  sphere  of  practice.  Beza  reports  of  him,  that  he  despised 
useless  rhetorical  expressions,  and  that  he  was  as  determined  an 
enemy  of  hypocrisy  and  deceit,  especially  in  matters  concerning 
religion,  as  he  was  a  warm  friend  of  sincerity,  simplicity,  and 
childlike  purity  of  soul.  Thus,  in  one  of  his  letters,  he  says  :t — 
"  I  received  you  in  a  manner  but  little  friendly,  for  I  could  not 
practise  hypocrisy,  which  exists  not  in  my  soul.  Not  only  did 
the  reasons  alluded  to  make  me  resolute,  but  still  more  the  hor- 
ror which  I  feel  at  your  insincerity."  For  the  sake  of  truth,  I 
quote  here  the  only  example  which  I  have  met  with,  in  the  whole 
of  his  correspondence,  of  subterfuge  or  evasion.  He  writes  + : — 
"  I  cannot  undertake  so  long  a  journey  without  giving  occasion 
to  many  reports.  This  would  be  the  least  objection.  But  what 
excuse  could  I  make  to  the  senate?  I  should  have  been  glad  to 
find  one,  to  obtain  tranquillity  for  a  few  days." 

That  Calvin,  however,  did  not  despise  a  fair  exercise  of  fore- 
sight, is  evident  from  his  conduct,  and  especially  from  the  rules 
which  he  gave  to  the  little  rising  congregations  in  France,  re- 
specting concealment  during  the  existence  of  the  persecution. 
The  following  was  his  advice,  not  rarely  repeated,  in  the  year 
1563: — "Take  care  to  conduct  yourselves  as  cautiously  as  pos- 
sible, and  give  no  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  truth  to  skirmish 
with  you.  You  have  great  need  of  prudence  in  this;  your  main 
care  must  be  to  separate  yourselves  from  all  idolatries  and  pol- 
lutions, and  then  to  assemble  without  noise  or  display,  by  com- 
panies, to  pray  to  God,  and  to  be  instructed  by  his  Word."     The 

*  F.  Ancillon.  Tableau  des  Revolutions  du  Svsteme  Politique  de  l'Europe.  1823. 
T.  ii.  p.  72. 

f  Epis.  301.  %  MSS.  Gen.  Mai,  1549. 


302  calkin's  faith.  [chap.  xxi. 

remark  addressed  in  a  letter  to  some  believers  in  Poictou  is  well 
worthy  of  notice.  He  authorized  a  secret  assembly  there,  and 
says,  "There  is  a  fear  which  forms  the  mean  between  temerity 
and  timidity,  and  which  harms  not  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit/' 

Calvin's  love  of  truth,  his  noble,  unselfish  struggle  for  the 
things  of  God,  amid  difficulty  and  danger,  so  strengthened  his 
soul,  that  it  became  the  abode  of  a  courage  unfailing  and  heroic 
In  the  numberless  letters  which  he  addressed  to  persons  exposed 
to  the  most  fearful  perils,  we  see  that  he  had  the  elevated  faith 
which  will  not  allow  a  man  to  elude,  by  little  pretences,  the 
noble  death  of  a  martyr.  Much  should  he  rejoice,  he  often  says, 
to  see  his  brethren  escape,  but  he  cannot  advise  them  to  do  the 
least  thing  for  that  purpose.  The  glorious  ruling  idea  often 
occurs  in  the  same  writings,  that  the  persecuted  ought  to  thank 
God  for  the  great  honor  which  they  enjoy  in  being  allowed  to 
suffer  for  his  sake,  and  for  being  called  to  engage  in  such  a  con- 
flict. Hence  I  observed,  at  the  beginning,  that  his  life  was  calcu- 
lated to  exalt  the  spirit,  and  to  encourage  the  purest  piety. 

To  characterize  Calvin's  holy  disposition  in  a  few  words,  I  will 
direct  attention  to  one  of  its  most  remarkable  signs,  namely,  his 
child-like  trust  in  God,  and  his  invincible  faith  in  prayer,  which 
was  his  strength  and  daily  resource.  In  the  perilous  circum- 
stances of  his  life,  and  in  his  last  hour,  he  constantly  expressed 
the  desire  that  his  friends  should  pray  for  him,  and  for  every  good 
thing.  Hence  the  inward  conviction  which  he  had,  that  the 
providence  of  God  was  the  guiding  power  of  his  whole  life 
This  feeling  is  expressed  with  filial  tenderness  in  his  preface  t^ 
the  Psalms,  and  his  confession  on  his  death-bed,  that  he  at  las> 
saw  how  the  blessing  of  God  had  rested  upon  him  during  all  the 
storms  at  Geneva,  and  though  he  had  gone  thither  with  so  grea\ 
unwillingness.  In  his  last  years  he  became  remarkably  soft  am! 
gentle;  he  strove  to  offend  no  one,  and  he  exhibited  an  unfail- 
ing hope  in  a  better  life,  which  he  expressed  in  short  soul-felt 
prayers. 

As  Calvin  never  wavered  in  doctrine,  so  neither  did  he  in 
faith,  and  thence  he  had  never  to  endure  such  terrible  conflicts 
as  Luther.  He  was  more  temperate,  and  proceeded  at  a  more 
moderate  pace.  Calvin  had,  it  is  true,  his  extraordinary  mo- 
ments, but  ho  stood  securer  in  the  second  place.  Luther,  on 
the  other  hand,  at  the  head  of  the  mightiest  revolution  which 
had  happened  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  had  to  bear   much 


A.D.  1541-GO.]  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  303 

severer  struggles.  This  was  the  consequence,  probably,  of  a 
certain  degree  of  darkness  and  high-mindedness,  the  greatness 
of  the  work  being  almost  too  much  for  a  poor,  weak,  human 
heart.  Calvin's  darkness,  on  the  contrary,  was  always  dissi- 
pated by  the  first  of  those  with  whom  he  had  to  contend,  and 
even  by  the  form  of  his  church,  which  he  established  to  suppress 
the  influence  of  spiritual  pride. 

It  is  interesting  to  hear  Mathesius,  who  understood  Luther's 
innermost  life,  speak  of  these  struggles,  and  to  learn  from  him 
to  judge  with  caution  of  extraordinary  men,  and  to  treat  them 
with  a  wiser  regard.  He  relates,  "In  the  year  1530  the  doc- 
tor's zeal  was  kindled  against  his  own  spiritual  children  ;  he  in- 
timated that  he  would  preach  no  more,  and  he  accordingly  kept 
silence  for  a  long  time,  till  his  anger  began  to  cool,  and  the  call 
in  his  heart  roused  him  again  to  come  forth.  Great  men  have 
great  thoughts,  and  their  own  especial  conflicts,  which  we  sim- 
ple ones  cannot  well  understand.  Moses  broke  in  his  anger  the 
two  tables.  St.  Paul  consigned  the  Corinthian  offender  to  Satan. 
It  has  indeed  often  grieved  our  doctor  that  his  writings  have 
such  a  hailstorm  kind  of  sound  ;  and  he  has  many  a  time  wished 
that  he  could  rain  as  softly  and  pleasantly  as  Philip  and  Bren- 
tius  ;  but  the  mind  works  in  various  modes,  and  we  who  journey 
along  the  highways  or  common  roads  should  not  look  after  those 
who  can  pass  through  rivers  and  woods,  and  over  hill  and  val- 
ley ;  and  far  less  should  we  rashly  judge  men  of  great  earnest- 
ness, strength,  zeal  and  courage.  They  have  their  leaders  and 
drill-masters  in  their  own  hears.  These  determine  their  move- 
ments, carrying  them  forth,  whither  they  know  not,  and  so  won- 
derfully conducting  their  journey,  that  he  who  sees  them  crosses 
and  blesses  himself.  When  the  doctor  was  once  reading  of  Re- 
becca, who  introduced  her  younger  son  Jacob  against  his  father's 
will,  I  heard  him  say  these  words  :  Rebecca  commenced  in  a 
disorderly  way,  but  she  brought  it  to  pass  ;  and  thus  also  have 
I  often  gone  out  of  the  beateu  path,  and  used  a  strong  'Our 
Father'  for  a  bridge,  and  so  have  come  forth  with  God  ;  I  do  not 
however  advise  any  of  you  to  act  thus,  but  rather  counsel  you 
to  remain  on  the  beaten  path,  and  to  labor  according  to  rule  ; 
then  no  one  can  hedge  you  round."  Mathesius  adds,  "  There- 
fore let  us  act  according  to  rule,  and  as  some  have  overstepped 
the  rule,  and  yet  have  fulfilled  it.  let  us  admire  great  and  won 
derful  men,  and  thank  God  for  (heir  heroic  virtue,  since  we 
must  have  stormy  wind  and  hail  to  send  away  the  old  snow." 


304  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

The  simple  meaning  of  Luther's  confession  is,  that  he  did  not 
always  pursue  the  direct  path,  and  yet  he  came  through  ;  or  that 
he  employed  ill  means  to  obtain  a  good  end. 

I  have  found  no  such  original  confession  in  Calvin's  writings, 
although  he  was  like  Moses,  who  broke  the  tables  of  the  law  in 
wrath  ;  and  like  Luther  in  this  respect,  that  he  passed  obliquely 
over  the  field. 

A  well-known  critic*  says  of  Calvin,  "  The  ordinary  rule  by 
which  we  measure  common  men  and  circumstances  is  not  avail- 
able in  the  case  of  great  men,  whose  course  is  more  eccentric." 
Calvin  however  formed  a  severer  judgment  upon  this  subject. 
He  was  a  simple  Christian,  and  sternly  imposed  upon  himself 
the  same  rule  by  which  he  desired  ordinary  men  to  be  judged 
and  guided.  Calvin,  had  not,  like  Luther,  an  occasional  feeling 
of  unwonted  greatness,  a  feeling  which  we  still  find  expressed  in 
Luther's  testament,  and  which  urged  him  to  extraordinary  efforts. 
Calvin  had  perhaps  the  sentiment  most  proper  to  the  position 
which  he  occupied,  but  may  never  have  supposed  that  he  and 
Luther  would  be  placed  side  by  side,  as  they  have  long  since  been 
by  the  judgment  of  the  church. 

Another  remarkable  confession  of  Luther,  respecting  his  weak- 
ness in  the  struggles  of  faith,  deserves  to  be  quoted.  Mathesius 
says,  "  A  woman  once  complained  to  him  that  she  could  not 
believe  anymore.  'What!'  said  the  doctor,  '  can  you  no  longer 
believe  your  creed  V  She  repeated  it  with  great  devotion.  '  Now 
do  you  hold  that  for  true?'  continued  the  doctor.  She  answered 
in  the  affirmative.  '  Well,  then,  my  dear  woman,'  he  exclaimed, 
'  your  faith  is  stronger  than  mine,  for  I  am  obliged  to  pray  every 
day  for  the  increase  of  my  faith.'  The  woman  thanked  him,  and 
went  home  happy.  Antonius  Musa,  the  clergyman  of  Rochlits, 
told  me,  that  he  once  earnestly  complained  to  the  doctor,  that 
he  could  not  believe  sometimes  what  he  preached  to  others.  'God 
be  praised  and  thanked,'  answered  the  doctor,  'that  it  is  thus  with 
other  people  as  well  as  with  myself!  I  thought  that  it  was  the 
case  with  me  only.'     Musa  never  forgot  this  consolation." 

Melancthon  often  desponded :  even  Knox,  with  all  his  energy, 
once  found  himself  disheartened.  No  trace  of  weakness,  on  the 
contrary,  can  be  found  in  Calvin's  faith.  His  trust  was  firm  as 
a  rock,  and  this  firmness  was  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of 
his  character.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  however  that  he  knew 
nothing  of  such  struggles.     In  the  '  Institutes,'!  he  shows  that 

*  Bretschneider.  t  15-  ">•  °-  "• 


A.D.  1541-60.]  CALVIN    AND    LUTHER.  305 

if  a  Christian  is  terrified  by  the  dread  of  God's  judgments,  he 
should  cast  himself  into  God's  own  arms.  "  If  the  believing 
soul  is  driven  to  and  fro  in  an  unusual  manner,  still  will  it  rise 
again  superior  to  all  its  distresses,  and  never  suffer  itself  to  be 
deprived  of  its  trust  in  the  divine  mercy.  The  soul  of  the  be- 
liever, far  from  being  finally  cast  down,  will  always  rise  through 
its  anxieties  to  a  higher  degree  of  security.  This  is  evidenced 
in  the  lives  of  the  saints.  Even  when  the  judgments  of  God 
filled  them  with  terror,  they  pour  their  complaints  into  his  bosom, 
and  call  upon  him,  even  when  they  cannot  believe  that  they  shall 
be  heard.  Faith  is  never  wholly  rooted  out  of  the  heart  of  a 
believer.  However  shaken  he  may  be,  and  however  wavering, 
yet  does  he  continue  planted  in  the  truth.  Although  there  is  no 
greater  despair  for  them  than  when  they  experience  the  wrath  of 
God,  yet  will  they  exclaim  with  Job,  that  if  God  should  slay 
them  still  would  they  hope  in  his  power  and  goodness.  Dis- 
belief rules  not  in  them,  but  only  seizes  upon  them  from  with- 
out. Faith  in  all  their  struggles  overcometh  the  world,  though 
it  should  be  assailed  a  thousand  times."  Many  other  extraor- 
dinary passages  might  be  quoted  from  his  works,  illustrative  of 
the  security  and  strength  of  believers. 

I  will  here  make  the  following  remark  for  his  enemies.  Very 
different  from  the  temper  which  we  see  in  many  of  his  followers 
and  critics,  who  hold  fast  by  his  ideas,  we  find  in  him,  on  nearer 
acquaintance,  so  much  spirit  or  life,  that  although  he  keeps  sternly 
to  the  letter  of  Scripture,  and  produces  a  system  which  seems 
to  proceed  only  from  the  cold  understanding,  the  fulness  of  his 
spirit  streams  brightly  over  the  rough  sides  of  his  nature ;  and, 
very  different  again  from  the  dry  teachers  to  whom  thought  is 
everything,  there  is  a  higher  feeling  in  all  he  says,  and  he  is 
better  than  he  seems.  He  beheld  the  clearly  defined  goodness 
of  God,  silencing  all  contradiction,  behind  the  edifice  of  eternal 
election,  and  from  which  he  himself  shrunk  with  awe.  Thus, 
love  for  the  souls  of  sinners,  and  great  pity,  were  ultimately  com- 
bined with  his  severity  in  his  exercise  of  church  authority,  and 
I  verily  believe  that  he  regretted,  in  the  later  period  of  his  lifer 
the  violence  of  his  conduct  toward  heretics. 

The  piety  which  he  cherished  gave  birth  to  the  constant  feel- 
ing of  the  nearness  of  God.  He  had  no  especial  love  of  nature ;. 
but  the  whole  world  and  nature  were  life  to  him,  because  he  saw 
God  and  the  angels  therein,  and  as  looking  down  upon  him  from. 

vol.  i.— 20 


306  calvin's  sentiments.  [chap.  xxi. 

thence  ;  nor  is  there  a  single  trace  in  his  being  of  negligence  or 
indifference. 

One  of  his  favorite  and  most  characteristic  expressions,  well 
proving  his  faith,  and  often  occurring  when  he  would  speak  with 
emphasis,  is  that  in  which  he  appeals  to  "  God  and  the  holy 
angels,  who  see  us ;"  as,  for  example,  in  his  letter  to  Melanc- 
thon,  and  in  a  beautiful  passage  at  the  beginning  of  his  work 
against  Hesshuss,  in  which  mention  is  made  of  the  crowd  of  wit- 
nesses who  behold  us.  This  thought,  that  heaven  was  looking 
upon  him,  animated  the  whole  world  to  his  apprehension,  and  he 
seems  to  have  always  performed  his  work  under  the  influence 
of  this  feeling.  It  is  so  much  more  surprising  that  he  should 
have  used  the  expression  referred  to,  since  he  and  all  the  other 
reformers  protested  against  the  invocation  of  angels  and  saints ; 
and  hence  the  angels  in  our  church  have  been  almost  forgotten. 
Another  similar  mode  of  speech  is  that  in  which  he  appeals  to 
Christ  as  the  master  of  the  lists,  as  the  witness  and  judge,  under 
whose  eyes  we  contend. 

We  may  here  take  occasion  to  remark,  that  the  reformers  were 
generally  deficient  in  romantic  imaginativeness  ;  in  the  love  of 
nature  and  her  beauties.  The  infidelity  of  modern  times,  which 
frequently  loses  sight  altogether  of  God's  work  in  the  creation, 
is  easily  reconciled  with  a  fanatical  feeling  which  springs  from 
the  force  of  fancy,  and  imagines  the  existence  of  a  certain  spirit, 
or  life  in  nature.  Among  the  reformers,  on  the  contrary,  there 
is  no  sign  that  the  lofty  scenes  of  nature  inspired  them  with  ad- 
miration, as  is  the  case  in  our  times,  when  an  intellectual  man, 
whether  he  feels  the  sentiment  or  not,  must  at  least  be  supposed 
to  do  so.  This  is  even  more  remarkable  in  Calvin,  who  lived 
amid  the  sublimest  scenes  of  nature,  on  the  borders  of  the  lovely 
lake  of  Geneva,  and  could  not  look  out  of  his  window  without 
seeing  the  glaciers  of  Savoy  and  Mont  Blanc.  But  if  we  might 
judge  by  his  letters,  in  which  he  expresses  every  sentiment  of  his 
heart,  we  should  conclude  that  he  lived  in  a  sandy  desert  in  the 
wilds  of  Sarmatia,  or  the  tannen-forests  of  the  north.  His  soul, 
it  seems  to  me,  was  wholly  employed  with  God  and  the  invisible 
world.  This  so  engaged  its  powers,  so  stretched  the  capacity  of 
the  spirit,  that  joy  in  any  outward  beauty  or  glory  was  compelled 
to  yield.  Such  men  had  not  time  to  see,  or  they  did  not  deem  it 
right  to  speak  of,  these  things.  Discourse  employed  thereon 
could  lead  to  no  particular  end,  at  least  not  to  the  salvation  of 


a.d.  1541-60.]  calvin's  self-denial.  307 

the  world,  and  they  had  no  leisure  for  useless  talk.  Farel,  who 
was  enthusiastic  and  full  of  soul,  must  in  all  probability,  as  a 
man,  have  been  an  admirer  of  nature ;  and  yet  when  he  writes 
to  Calvin,  he  speaks  not  once  of  God's  benevolence  in  creation, 
of  the  murmurs  of  the  lake,  or  the  view  of  the  Alps,  when  glow- 
ing with  the  setting  sun, — things  which  are  spoken  of  so  naturally 
in  the  letters  of  other  learned  men.  Calvin  never  draws  his  sim- 
iles from  the  scenes  around  him  :  this  defect  may  also  be  found  in 
Luther,  but  in  a  less  degree. 

Thus  it  seems  not  to  have  belonged  to  the  development  of  these 
great  men's  powers  to  delight  in  outward  nature,  or  even  in  the 
works  of  art.  Wessel,  for  example,  as  we  learn  from  his  biogra- 
phy, and  Erasmus,  felt  nothing  of  the  kind  even  in  Italy. 

The  same  thing  is  recorded  of  St.  Bernard,  who  travelled 
along  the  lake  of  Geneva  without  at  all  noticing  it.  How  Luther, 
when  the  beauties  of  nature  excited  him,  still  held  fast  by  his 
thought  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  Mathesius  shows  in  the  follow- 
ing statement : — "  The  spring  of  the  year  1540  was  very  beauti- 
ful, everything  was  green  and  blooming.  The  doctor  said  to  Mr. 
Justus  Jonas,  if  sin  and  death  were  away,  we  might  be  well  sat- 
isfied to  remain  in  such  a  paradise.  But  it  will  be  far  lovelier, 
when  the  old  world  and  the  old  skin  are  renewed,  and  an  eternal 
spring  arrives,  which  shall  continue  forever."  Some  occasional 
indications  of  the  love  of  nature  occur  in  his  life,  and  Mathesius 
says  that,  shortly  before  his  death,  "  he  looked  for  a  long  time  in 
the  evening  upon  the  heavens."  Calvin's  life  exhibits  nothing  of 
this  kind. 

Calvin's  heroic  resignation,  so  frequently  exhibited,  was  never- 
theless not  sufficient  to  induce  him  to  imitate  the  sublime  sacri- 
fice, the  desire  to  become  anathematized  for  his  brethren.  That 
mysterious  devotion  of  the  soul  which  would  take  upon  itself  the 
sufferings  of  others,  and  thereby  set  them  free,  has  no  trace,  as 
far  as  I  can  find,  among  the  reformers.  This  resignation  is  a 
great  trial  to  the  strength  of  the  soul ;  it  is  a  degree  of  self- 
denial  which  seems  to  border  upon  fanaticism.  We  find  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  instances  of  the  anathema  in  the  life  of 
Gichtel,  who,  according  to  his  own  firm  belief,  freed  a  soul  by 
his  prayers  and  resignation  from  condemnation.  And  we  have 
another  in  the  case  of  Vincentius  von  Paul,  who  liberated  a  theo- 
logian from  the  evil  spirit,  which  then  rested  upon  Paul  himself, 
and  gave  him  unspeakable  distress.  This  is  also  illustrated  in 
his   history  by  the  case  of  the  young  Dufour,  who,  from   ardent 


308  VIEWS    RESPECTING    SATAN.  [CHAP.  XXI. 

friendship,  wished  to  die  for  Vincentius,  and  this  actually  took 
place. 

As  occurrences  of  this  kind  are  known  among  protestants  as 
well  as  catholics,  and  not  merely  among  their  weak  members,  but 
among  the  most  pious  and  godly,  they  certainly  deserve  attention. 
The  reformers  however  were  too  much  employed  in  controversy 
to  be  able  to  give  themselves  up  to  this  loftier  species  of  divine 
life.  Nor  did  Scripture  lead  them  direct  to  this,  and  to  go  further 
than  Scripture  led  seemed  to  them  sin. 

Important,  in  respect  to  the  individuality  of  the  man,  is  the 
view  taken  of  that  personal,  mysterious  being  who  is  the  author 
of  evil.  This  carries  us  a  step  higher,  and  completes  our  view 
of  Calvin's  Christian  faith.  Luther  betrays  in  this  respect  the 
soundest  understanding,  and  power  of  thought  and  reflection. 
He  considered  that  we  should  not  wish  to  see  wonders,  for  that 
the  Word  performs  the  greatest  wonders :  thus  he  says,  "  I  have 
often  prayed  God  not  to  let  me  see  a  miracle."  It  is  the  more 
remarkable  therefore  that  this  man,  with  so  clear  an  under- 
standing, should  so  often  have  seen  the  devil,  and  should  have 
spoken  of  him  so  confidently,  and  described  him  under  such  vari- 
ous forms.  I  will  say  nothing  further  here  on  this  mysterious 
subject,  except  that  Calvin,  very  different  from  Luther,  although 
he  believed  with  equal  confidence  in  the  literal  and  personal  ex- 
istence of  the  power  of  evil,  as  a  fallen  being,  the  enemy  and  be- 
trayer of  mankind,  never  viewed  him  as  perceptible  by  the  senses. 
Let  it  be  that  his  imagination  was  not  so  active  as  Luther's,  or 
that  the  evil  spirit  well  knew  this  was  not  the  way  to  disturb  him, 
certain  it  is  that  no  trace  of  his  visible  manifestation  appears  in 
Calvin's  life,  and  that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  temptations  of 
the  devil  especially  assailing  him. 

Calvin's  opinions  on  witchcraft  and  the  influence  of  Satan,  if 
not  less  clearly  stated  than  his  other  notions,  are  not  so  frequently 
expressed.  His  silence  in  this  respect  shows  that  it  was  a  sub- 
ject with  which  he  had  no  wish  to  meddle.  Still  he  acknowledges 
the  determined  influence  of  the  evil  spirit  on  those  who  make  a 
bad  use  of  their  free-will,  but  not  on  those  who  believe  in  Jesus 
and  redemption. 

His    silence  is   the    more   remarkable,   since   Picot*   adduces 

many  instances  of  persons   thus  affected,  and,  as  it  would  seem, 

after  Calvin.     In  the  course  of  sixty  years,  one  hundred  and  fifty 

persons  are  said  to  have  been  convicted  of  witchcraft,  and  burnt 

*  Hist,  de  Geneve,  t.  ii.  p.  389.  1592-1652. 


A.D.  1541-60.]      INSTANCE  OP  DEMONIACAL  POSSESSION.  309 

alive,  after  they  had  been  compelled  by  dread  of  the  rack,  which 
confused  their  understanding,  to  acknowledge  crimes  which  prob- 
ably they  had  never  attempted,  and  which  at  least  lie  concealed 
in  the  greatest  mystery  and  darkness. 

How  was  it  that  so  great  and  penetrating  a  mind  as  Calvin's, 
which  exercised  so  manifest  an  influence  on  the  legislature,  did 
not  protest  against  these  fearful  and  turbulent  proceedings  against 
witches  ?  Was  he  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  these  trials  ? 
And  why,  if  he  believed  in  such  horrors,  did  he  not  express  him- 
self clearly  on  the  subject?  The  year  1652  is  the  last  in  which 
the  crime  occurred  at  Geneva. 

If  we  consider  the  labors  and  writings  of  this  great  man  in 
the  mass,  this  matter  will  shrink  into  insignificance,  and  his 
prudence  on  such  points  will  lead  to  the  idea,  that  he  adapted 
himself  to  the  common  opinions  of  his  age,  and  was  willing  to 
believe  the  possibility  of  a  demoniacal  possession,  and  a  direct 
intercourse  with  the  devil,  who  could  impart  to  the  wicked  a 
certain  influence  and  power  of  magic.  But  Calvin  would  not 
allow  of  the  exorcism  of  children,  which  Luther  firmly  defended. 
He  asserted  that,  as  the  elect  cannot  perish,  they  cannot  give 
themselves  up  to  Satan,  whereas  the  rest  will,  sooner  or  later,  cer- 
tainly fall  into  his  power. 

In  the  'Institutes,'  where  he  describes  the  devil  as  a  fallen 
spirit,  and  as  carrying  with  him,  according  to  Scripture,  a  vast 
number  of  wicked  beings,  he  says  expressly,  that  the  devil,  who 
is  always  contending  against  God,  can  yet  do  nothing  contrary  to 
his  will.  God  allows  evil  spirits  to  act  upon  the  reprobate  only, 
and  not  upon  the  elect,  whose  trust  is  in  the  Lord.  He  also  fur- 
ther declares,  when  speaking  of  the  catholic  exorcists,  that  they 
themselves  are  under  the  possession  of  the  devil,  thus  admitting 
the  possibility  of  such  an  influence.  His  words  are  :  "  They  do 
as  if  they  had  the  power,  by  laying  their  hands  on  the  raging 
and  possessed,  to  improve  their  state.  But  they  will  never  con- 
vince the  devil  that  they  have  this  power :  in  the  first  place,  be- 
cause they  have  no  real  influence  ;  and  in  the  second,  because 
the  devil  has  power  over  themselves ;  for  there  is  scarcely  one  in 
ten  of  them  who  is  not  subject  to  his  sway." 

A  curious  instance  of  demoniacal  possession  is  related  in  one 
of  Calvin's  letters.  A  man  is  said  to  have  given  himself  to  the 
devil,  and  his  body  was  afterwards  nowhere  to  be  found.  Calvin 
spoke  of  this  to  the  council,  and  in  a  manner  which  shows  plainly 
that  he  believed  in  the  power  of  Satan  on  the  wicked  man.     The 


310  INSTANCE    OF    DEMONIACAL    POSSESSION.     [CHAP.  XXI 

letter  is  a  very  characteristic  one,  Calvin  feeling  exceedingly  angry 
that  some  members  of  the  council  smiled  at  his  opinion. 

"As  you  wish,"  he  says,  "  to  be  informed  more  precisely  on 
the  matter,  you  shall  be  so  in  few  words.  Our  brother  Ray- 
mond thought  it  right  to  learn  somewhat  of  the  horrible  death 
of  the  wretched  man.  The  thing  seemed  sufficiently  important 
to  call  upon  the  magistrates  to  institute  an  inquiry  respecting  it. 
I  was  commissioned  by  the  brethren  to  appeal  to  the  council. 
Accordingly,  I  proved  to  the  assembly  the  necessity  of  examin- 
ing the  occurrence  till  the  mystery  was  cleared  up,  the  reports 
concerning  it  having  created  so  much  excitement.  If  the  whole 
was  a  fable,  it  would  then  be  officially  exposed  ;  but  should  its 
truth  appear,  then  assuredly  ought  not  so  great  a  judgment  of 
God  to  be  covered  with  the  veil  of  forgetfuiness.  I  already  saw 
that  many  were  making  a  jest  of  the  whole  affair.  But  I  remem- 
bered, that  no  miracle  had  ever  been  so  clearly  wrought,  but  that 
Satan  had  sought  to  involve  it  in  darkness.  Men  refused  to  rec- 
ognize the  hand  of  God  even  when  Dathan,  Abiram,  and  Corah 
were  swallowed  up. 

"  The  council  resolved  to  consider  the  subject,  and  the  inquiry 
was  committed  to  four  syndics,  the  greater  part  of  the  senate, 
and  the  prefect  of  the  city,  with  his  officers.  We  were  also  pres- 
ent. The  man  lived  on  the  Ager  Tuguriumi  where  his  wife  and 
four  children  had  died  of  the  plague.  He  was  a  wicked,  worth- 
less creature,  known  all  his  life  long  as  a  drunken,  dissipated 
blasphemer.  "When  his  neighbors  reproached  him  for  so  rarely 
going  to  church,  he  was  accustomed  to  answer  them  jestingly, 
'  What !  have  I  let  myself  to  Calvin,  that  I  must  listen  to  his 
preaching?'  Warned  by  Ferronius  of  the  danger  attending  his 
evil  courses,  he  showed  no  signs  of  repentance.  Shortly  before 
his  last  sickness,  he  was  reproved  by  Raymond  for  his  shameful 
desertion  of  his  wife.  The  plague  only  excited  him  to  curse. 
After  the  death  of  his  children,  he  himself  fell  ill.  When  so 
weak  that  he  could  scarcely  lift  up  his  hand,  he  was  seized  one 
night  with  frenzy.  He  sprang  out  of  bed,  his  mother  and  the 
woman,  who  were  watching  by  his  side,  in  vain  endeavoring  tc 
restrain  him.  He  did  nothing  but  rave  against  the  devil,  and 
cry  that  he  was  a  lost  man  and  a  prey  to  Satan.  On  being 
exhorted  to  pray,  he  answered  that  that  could  not  help  him,  foi 
that  he  already  belonged  to  the  devil,  and  that  he  troubled  him- 
self about  God  no  more  than  about  a  bit  of  an  old  shoe.  That 
these  were   his  words,    both   his   mother  and  the  servant  stated. 


a.d.  1541-60.]       calvin's  views  op  sorcery.  311 

It  was  just  after  sunrise,  and  about  seven  o'clock.  He  was 
lying  on  the  bed,  and  his  mother  sat  by  on  a  little  door.  Sud- 
denly he  flung  himself  over  her  head,  as  if  borne  up  by  a  storm- 
wind.  Both  the  women  strove  to  restrain  him,  but  he  fled  with 
such  force  that  he  seemed  to  be  lifted  up,  and  not  to  run.  In 
the  part  of  the  field  which  he  traversed  is  a  very  thick  quick- 
set hedge.  The  spot  has  been  shown  us.  Even  had  both  sides 
of  the  path  been  level,  no  one  could  have  had  the  strength  to 
bound  over  without  leaving  some  tatters  behind  ;  but  on  the 
other  side  is  a  high  wall,  and  behind  the  wall  a  stony  road, 
rough,  and  almost  like  the  bed  of  a  torrent.  A  little  way  beyond 
is  another  wall,  like  the  former,  and  which  is  also  defended  by  a 
thick  prickly  hedge.  But  while  there  was  no  possibility  of  his 
springing  over  the  nearest  hedge,  without  breaking  all  his  limbs, 
and  no  footing  was  to  be  found  on  the  other  side,  yet  did  the 
women  see  him  carried,  as  by  the  force  of  a  tempest,  high  up  the 
Weinberg  in  the  distance.  They  pointed  out  the  spot  where  he 
vanished  from  their  sight.  His  hat  was  found  behind  that  place, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Rhone.  Some  boatmen,  who  were  sent  to 
look  for  his  body,  troubled  themselves  to  no  purpose,  nor  could 
he  have  reached  the  Rhone  from  that  place  without  falling. 
But,  clear  as  the  matter  was,  some  of  the  principal  men  were 
so  rash  and  petulant  as  to  refuse  to  give  credit  to  the  recital.  I 
exclaimed  however  with  a  loud  voice,  'If  you  believe  that  there  is 
a  devil,  you  have  here  a  manifest  instance  of  his  power.  Those 
who  believe  not  in  God  deserve  to  be  blind  in  the  midst  of  light.' 
On  the  third  day  therefrom,  which  was  Sunday,  I  preached  on 
this  circumstance  to  the  council  of  brethren,  and  pressed  hard 
upon  those  who  treated  a  thing  so  clearly  proved  as  a  fable.  I 
went  indeed  so  far  as  to  say  that,  during  these  two  days,  I  should 
have  preferred  death  twenty  times  over,  having  seen  those  un- 
feeling countenances,  could  I  have  then  witnessed  the  judgments 
of  God.  The  ungodliness  of  our  people  was  more  than  ever  dis- 
covered by  this  affair.  Few  only  agreed  with  us.  I  know  not  if 
even  one  really  believed  us  from  the  heart." 

The  following  letter  belongs  to  the  first  period  of  his  labors  at 
Strasburg:  it  is  addressed  to  Pigne.* 

"  With  regard   to  sorcerers,   I  entirely  agree  with   you,   that 

they  suffer  no   change  in   their  bodies ;  I  mean,  that  they  know 

no  other  transformation   than   that  which  took  place   in  the  rods 

of    the   magicians,    which,    although    they    outwardly    took    the 

*  Oct.  1,  1538.     MSS.  Gen. 


312  calvin's  views  of  sorcery.  [chap.  xxi. 

form  of  serpents,  were  still  named  rods  by  Moses,  in  order  that 
we  might  see  that  these  deceivers  were  rather  deluding  the  eyes 
of  the  sp "ctators  than  working  any  real  wonder.  On  the  other 
hand,  no  one  can  reply,  that  the  serpent  actually  exhibited  by 
Moses  is  described  by  the  same  word  ;  for  there  would  have 
been  little  excellence  id  the  account,  if  it  had  been  said  that  the 
rods  were  devoured  by  the  serpent.  When  the  prophet  there- 
fore sought  to  exhibit  God's  power,  while  he  confounded  the 
deceits  of  Satan,  he  expressly  mentions  that  the  things  employed 
at  the  beginning  were  the  same,  that  no  one  might  suppose  that 
he  had  surpassed  the  magicians,  rather  by  the  instrument  which 
he  employed  than  by  the  arm  of  the  Lord.  If  both  Moses  and 
the  magicians  had  wrought  a  similar  transformation,  he  would 
not  have  called  them  rods,  but  serpents.  It  is,  moreover,  not 
against  the  truth,  that  they  work  such  sorceries,  for  which  they 
are  accused  by  others,  and  of  which  they  are  the  conscious  doers, 
according  to  their  own  confession.  For  the  kingdom  of  Satan 
is  covered  on  all  sides  with  such  a  thick  darkness,  that  we  must 
not  wonder  if  the  deceivers  themselves  even  attain  to  prophecy. 
The  matter  stands  thus.  To  those  whose  wretched  services  he 
employs,  that  they  may  befool  the  vulgar  thereby,  Satan  presents 
such  a  net-work  of  error,  that,  being  altogether  blinded,  they  are 
prepared  for  any  undertaking.  Thus  it  happens  that,  inflamed 
with  madness,  they  sometimes  vent  their  rage  not  only  on  chil- 
dren, but  even  on  dumb  animals ;  the  devil,  who  kindles  their 
wrath,  giving  them  strength  for  the  work.  Thus,  when  con- 
victed of  such  crimes,  the  question  is  not  whether  they  actually 
take  another  form,  or  concealed  by  their  ceremonies,  only  seem 
to  take  one  ;  it  is  more  than  sufficient,  if  they  surrender  themselves 
with  free-will  to  Satan  to  fulfil  his  wicked  designs.  But  it  can 
never  be  allowed  that  Satan  has  the  power  of  creating  anything, 
for  there  is  only  one  Creator — the  Creator  of  all  things.  The 
wonders  which  he  performs,  whatever  they  may  seem,  can  never 
be  more  than  vain  appearances.  Although  they  are  often  so  ex- 
traordinary as  to  pass  all  belief,  we  must  not  forget  that  it  is  not 
so  difficult  for  the  father  of  lies  to  blind  in  a  certain  degree  the 
eyes  of  the  weak,  or  rather  to  sport  with  the  blind  ;  it  being  un- 
belief alone  which  can  give  room  to  such  false  displays. 

"  We  may  hence  understand,  what  sort  of  force  the  charms  and 
barbarous  formularies  which  magicians  mutter  can  have  against 
the  faithful.  If  you  do  not  altogether  surrender  yourself  to  the 
vain  delusions  of  the  devil,  and  allow  him  to  overcome  you,  all 


a.d.  1541-60.]      calvin's  views  op  sorcery.  313 

this  will  be  as  a  vain  smoke.  Sorceries  are,  we  may  be  sure,  but 
empty  lies,  which  certainly  cannot  avail  more  than  the  truth. 
We  speak  not  of  all  that  is  true,  but  particularly  of  those  prom- 
ises by  which  the  Lord  offers  us  forgiveness  of  sins,  regenera- 
tion, the  possession  of  eternal  life,  and  even  Christ  himself. 
But  what  strength  can  there  be  in  words  spoken  without  any 
feeling  of  their  sense,  without  understanding,  and  which  are 
heard  as  they  are  spoken  ?  Certainly  no  more  than  there  is  in 
an  iron  pot  or  basin  when  struck  to  make  them  ring.  Most 
true  is  that  saying  of  Augustine,  that  the  power  of  the  Word  ap- 
pears in  the  sacraments,  not  because  it  is  spoken,  but  because  it 
is  believed.  We  should  greatly  insult  the  Word  of  God  if  we 
attributed  less  energy  to  it  than  to  senseless  tricks  and  ab- 
surdities. It  is  therefore  our  duty  to  warn  men  against  com- 
mitting themselves  voluntarily  to  the  abominations  of  the  devil, 
lest  they  thereby  be  made  captive.  There  are  however  very 
clear  and  distinct  promises,  in  which  the  Lord  declares  that  he 
has  delivered  his  servants  from  all  these  machinations  of  Satan, 
and  from  these  his  senseless  trickeries.  If  he  lays  snares  for 
our  souls,  let  the  ninety-ninth  psalm,  which  proclaims  the  ever- 
lasting kingdom  of  the  Redeemer,  be  our  guard  against  every 
terror.  If  it  be  argued  that  Job  was  fearfully  tormented  by 
Satan,  I  cannot  indeed  deny  that  Satan  is  a  scourge  employed  by 
God  either  to  punish  or  to  prove  his  saints ;  but  a  pious  heart 
will  understand,  that  Satan  can  do  him  no  vital  harm,  so  long  as 
he  acknowledges  that  God's  providence  ruleth  all  things,  whatever 
be  the  instrument  it  employs." 

The  following  passages,  from  a  letter  written  a  few  months 
before  his  death,  show  that  he  still  took  the  same  view  of  Satan, 
as  a  tempter.  Thus  he  writes  to  the  duchess  of  Ferrara :  "It  is 
good  that  you  should  be  warned  of  one  thing,  namely,  that  the 
devil  has  in  all  times  labored  to  render  the  ministers  of  the 
Gospel  contemptible  by  sinister  reports  and  detractions,  so  as  to 
make  men  hate  or  despise  them.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of 
the  faithful  to  guard  themselves  against  this  fraud:  for  to  be- 
come disgusted  with  the  pastures  of  salvation,  is  to  do  more 
harm  than  when  we  mortify  the  belly,  for  this  is  a  question  of 
the  life  of  souls.  Howsoever  then  it  may  be,  Madam,  if  there 
be  those  who  would  fain,  by  some  oblique  method,  discourage  you 
from  pursuing  what  you  have  so  well  begun,  you  must  avoid 
ihem  as  deadly  pests.     And  in  fact  the  devil  does  raise  up  such 


314  spina's  letter  to  calvin.  [chap.  XXI. 

persons  to  alienate  you,  in  a  secret  way,  from  God.  who  desires 
to  be  confessed  among  his  faithful  ones." 

In  his  Harmony  of  the  Gospels  he  says,  "  By  the  word  '  pos- 
sessed,' Scripture  understands  not  all  those,  without  distinction, 
whom  Satan  troubles,  but  those  who  have  fallen  under  his  power, 
through  God's  secret  punishment,  that  he  may  possess  their  mind 
and  senses.  Lunatics  are  those  whose  sickness  increases  or 
diminishes  according  to  the  changes  of  the  moon,  as  for  example, 
those  who  are  afflicted  with  the  falling  sickness." 

Lastly,  this  extraordinary  man  could  not  but.  be  either  loved  or 
hated  :  it  was  impossible  to  look  at  his  course  with  indifference. 
Assuredly  it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  man  who  was  capable  of 
such  an  intimate  and  tender  friendship,  and  could  say,  that 
Melancthon  rested  his  weary  head  upon  his  shoulder,  and  would 
fain  have  died  so  resting,  was  not  the  Calvin  who  has  been  de- 
cried in  the  world  as  unworthy  of  being  loved.  We  will  here 
give  a  single  example,  from  among  many,  of  the  feeling  enter- 
tained towards  him. 

Johannes  von  Spina  had  been  an  Augustine.  The  love  of  truth 
took  possession  of  his  mind  :  he  expressed  his  ardent  desire  for 
Calvin's  acquaintance,  in  a  vehement  and  glowing  outpouring 
of  the  heart.  '"I  long  cherished,  most  beloved  brother,  this  de- 
sire to  make  acquaintance  with  you  ;  and  as  I  sought  with  the 
greatest  diligence  to  satisfy  this  my  anxious  wish,  I  asked  many 
persons  respecting  you,  and  all  expressed,  with  one  accord,  their 
admiration  and  affection  for  you,  and  their  sense  of  the  noble 
endowments  with  which  God  has  enriched  you.  and  which  you 
have  employed  for  the  glory  of  his  church,  so  that  no  one  comes 
up  to  you  in  spirit  or  learning  and  judgment.  And  they  said 
further,  that  you  are  accessible  to  all  whom  you  see  impressed 
with  the  love  of  the  Gospel.  As  I  heard  all  this,  and  much  more, 
with  the  same  delight  with  which  it  was  told  me.  my  hope  was 
confirmed  that  you  would  readily  afford  me  a  share  of  your 
friendship.  Hut  still  the  opportunity  was  wanting.  For  this  I 
prayed  to  God  with  eager  and  diligent  supplications.  For  many 
long  years  He  refused,  by  his  secret  counsel,  to  fulfil  my  hope. 
Hut  I  never  ceased  to  pray;  till  at  length,  partly  according  to 
his  bounty,  which  He  denies  to  none,  and  partly  on  account  of 
my  prayers,  He  granted  my  wish,  and  by  means  of  the  business 
which  sent  me  to  Italy.  I  journeyed  thither  without  delay.  I 
burned    with    desire  to  see    the   land  which  formerly  ruled  the 


A.D.  1541-60.]  BOLSEC    AND    GROTIUS.  315 

world.  When  nothing  further  detained  me  in  Italy,  and  1  was 
preparing  to  return,  I  acquainted  those  who  accompanied  me  on 
the  journey  of  my  resolution  to  visit  you,  the  wish  to  accomplish 
this  being  no  longer  to  be  suppressed.  Thus  it  happened  that 
we  made  another  journey,  and  that  which  I  had  so  long  desired 
was  accomplished.  Mine  eyes  were  fixed  upon  your  counte- 
nance as  long  as  my  companions  would  allow.  Their  society  now 
became  bitter  and  intolerable  to  me.  I  was  still  far  from  satis- 
fied. In  the  interview  which  you  granted  me,  short  as  it  was, 
you  had  inspired  me,  by  that  mysterious  power  which  seemed  to 
breathe  in  your  discourse  and  words,  with  a  veneration  which 
could  not  be  surpassed.  I  am  troubled,  from  hour  to  hour,  with 
that  desire  to  see  you  again  which  arose  in  my  mind  as  you  bade 
me  farewell.  And  I  hope  my  soul  will  not  rest,  till  the  Lord  has 
united  me  to  you  in  the  bonds  of  eternal  friendship.  God  grant, 
that  this  may  happen !  In  the  mean  time  I  pray  you  to  write 
to  me,  and,  as  you  can  easily  do,  instruct  me  in  all  those  things 
which  relate  to  my  salvation  or  my  duty.  And  I  further  beseech 
you  to  remember  me  in  your  solemn  supplications  to  God.  that 
He  may  free  our  souls  from  that  drowsiness  which  has  deprived 
us  of  the  resolution  and  courage,  which  are  so  necessary  to  the 
true  preaching  of  God's  Word.  We  beseech  you  again  and  again 
to  continue  the  exposition  which  you  have  begun  of  the  holy 
Epistles,  for  never  can  there  be  anything  of  this  kind  more  profit- 
able for  the  church.  May  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  you 
in  health,  and  free  from  harm,  you,  the  most  faithful  of  his  ser- 
vants, and  of  all  the  most  necessary  in  these  wicked  times ! 
Farewell  in  Christ !" 

Those  praised  Calvin  the  most,  and  with  the  greatest  anima- 
tion, who  knew  him  best.  I  will  instance  Beza.  Among  the 
most  enthusiastic  of  his  friends,  after  his  death,  we  may  mention 
Morus  of  Geneva.  Let  us  compare  with  the  words  of  these  men 
what  the  enemies  of  Calvin  have  said  against  him,  especially  the 
shameful  and  senseless  falsehoods  of  Bolsec,  which  have  been 
repeated,  during  three  centuries,  even  up  to  our  own  times,  in 
every  variety  of  form.  The  strongest  expressions  however  ever 
employed  against  Calvin  are  those  of  Grotius  : — ':  The  spirit  o( 
antichrist  has  been  seen,  not  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  only,  but 
on  those  of  lake  Leman."  For  these  are  the  words  of  a  protes- 
tant,  and  proceed  from  the  mouth  of  Grotius.  As  an  original 
sign  of  the  hatred  which  Calvin  had  awakened,  we  may  also  ob- 
serve, that  the  canons  of  his  native  city,  Noyon,  as  soon  as  they 


316  BOLSEC    AND    GROTIUS.  [ciIAP.  XXI. 

learnt  that  lie  lay  dangerously  sick,*  and  that  he  was  expected  to 
die,  offered  up  solemn  thanksgivings  in  the  church.  Thus  the 
blessing  and  the  curse  of  the  world  rested  upon  the  head  of  this 
man.  But  we  would  now  look  down  from  a  higher  stand,  and 
contemplating  the  church  of  Christ,  which  has  been  animated 
by  his  earnest  spirit  for  three  hundred  years,  cherish  the  hope, 
that  the  time  is  come  when  the  curse  itself  may  be  changed  into 
a  blessing. 

Calvin's  sharply  defined  character  was  already  fully  developed, 
when,  in  the  year  1541,  he  began  his  labors  with  a  more  perfect 
feeling  of  confidence.  But  it  is  not  till  we  can  look  back  upon 
his  whole  career  that  we  shall  be  able  to  form  a  full  and  correct 
judgment  of  his  spirit,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  evangelical 
Christian,  who,  like  Calvin,  desires  truth,  holiness  and  unity  in 
the  church,  and  the  separation  of  that  which  is  necessary  for  all 
times,  and  for  the  edification  of  the  body  of  Christ,  from  that 
which  lies  in  the  three  opposite  directions. 

*  Thia  was  in  1566. 


P  AE  T    II. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. — CALVIN  NECESSARY  AS  A  CEN- 
TRAL POINT  IN  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OP  THE  REFORMA- 
TION.* 

We  have  not  yet  considered  Calvin  in  his  historical  relation  to 
the  world.  The  portion  of  his  life  already  described  was  only 
a  preparation  for  that  which  followed.  We  have  confined  our 
attention  rather  to  his  personal  character  than  to  his  influence 
on  the  church.  To  make  it  evident  what  Calvin  was  to  the 
world,  we  shall  briefly  show  how,  according  to  the  plan  of  Prov- 
idence, he  became  as  a  necessary  antithesis  to  Luther  in  the 
protestant  system,  and  how  the  great  influence  of  Calvinism  on 
the  world  demonstrates  this  necessity. 

Calvin  had  undertaken  the  pastoral  office  in  the  little,  unquiet 
republic  of  Geneva  with  a  heavy  heart.  His  energetic  spirit 
however  now  took  a  higher  stand ;  he  felt  the  necessity  of 
securing  the  religious  freedom,  gained  after  so  long  a  struggle,  by 
church  government  and  discipline,  and  so  to  confirm  the  reforma- 
tion. Aided  by  the  example  of  Zurich,  which  had  established 
a  great  unity  of  opinion  in  the  south,  he  conceived  the  plan 
of  a  fortress,  from  which  he  might  successfully  assail  the 
various  heresies  of  the  age.  The  time  also  was  near  when,  after 
the  death  of  Luther,  and  the  convulsions  in  the  German  church, 
Calvin  was  to  stand  alone,  to  fix  the  observation  of  the  world 
upon  himself,  and  to  begin  his  grand  and  most  effectual  efforts 
for  France.  Thus  was  this  great  man,  so  like  in  energy  to 
Luther,  called  to  take  a  part  in  the  second  act  of  this  revolution. 
He  was  destined  to  seize  and  hold  fast  with  an  iron  hand  the 
car  of  the  reformation,  which  Luther  had  set  going,  but  which 
was  now  rolling  down  the  hill  with  dangerous  speed.  With  the 
force  of  a  stormy  wind,  and  majestically,  as  endowed  with  the 
right  of  judgment,  he  cleared  the  atmosphere  of  unhealthy 
vapors,  restored  peace,  as  far  as  it  was  possible,  and  often  for 
the  comfort  of  the  afflicted  let  the  rainbow  glimmer  through  the 
clouds. 

*  This  is  the  commencement  of  the  second  volume  of  the  original  work,  and  forma 
a  new  division  in  Dr.  Henry's  plan. 


320  ZWINGLI    AND    LUTHER.  [cHAP.  I. 

Calvin  was  a  necessary  contrast  to  Luther.  The  latter  also 
wished  indeed  for  unity,  and  strove  with  great  wisdom  against 
the  fanatics,  the  excited  peasantry,  the  Anabaptists,  the  Schwenk- 
feldians,  &c.  And  Calvin  strove  as  energetically  as  Luther ; 
but  Luther  aroused,  Calvin  tranquillized.  The  watchword  of 
the  one  was  war, — that  of  the  other,  order.  The  one  stormed, 
the  other  furnished,  the  citadel  of  God.  Luther,  so  to  speak, 
uprooted  life.  The  too  great  excitement  thus  created  would 
have  been  injurious  to  the  church,  had  not  others  come  forward 
to  bridle  the  spirits  by  understanding  and  power,  especially  in 
the  south,  where  the  reformation  was  so  irregularly  developed, 
and  produced  a  number  of  dark,  subtle  minds.  It  is  easy  to  see 
how  far  this  was  the  case,  notwithstanding  the  influence  exer- 
cised by  Calvin.  The  Socinuses,  Ochin,  Gentilis,  Dudith,  Ser- 
vetus,  show  it  sufficiently  well.  But  the  south  was  tamed, 
Switzerland  delivered,  Holland  and  England  raised  up,  by  Cal- 
vin's powerful  sense  of  order,  and  even  Germany  itself  was  bene- 
fited by  its  reflex  operation. 

From  this  point  only  can  we  rightly  understand  the  progressive 
history  of  the  reformation,  and  Calvin's  importance.  There 
is  no  ground  for  regarding  Zwinglianism  as  in  antagonism  with 
Lutheranism,  because  that  it  was  mainly  fashioned  by  principles 
of  reasoning.  For  Zwingli  had  not  sufficient  power  in  the 
domain  of  protestantism  to  form  an  opposition,  and  to  work  back 
upon  Lutheranism.  His  system  can  only  be  considered  as  the 
forerunner  of  Calvinism,  in  which  likewise  there  prevails  a 
governing  thought.  Zwingli's  view  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
became  in  his  later  years  more  ardent  and  profound,  and  was 
allowed  by  the  Zurich  synod,  after  his  death,  to  pass  into  that  of 
Calvin.  Thus  both  churches  now  exercised  a  common  influence 
upon  that  of  the  Lutherans,  and,  united  with  this,  nothing 
remained  wanting  to  show  the  protestant  faith  in  its  perfect  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  the  church  of  Rome. 

Calvin,  although  he  sometimes  perceived  the  importance  of 
his  position,  came  forth  at  this  period  without  knowing  how 
great  a  work  he  was  about  to  execute.  As  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  God,  he  only  desired  to  perform  his  duty.  But 
what  a  duty  !  It  is  but  now  that  we  have  learnt  to  estimate  its 
greatness  aright ;  and  this  gives  a  still  more  striking  character 
to  his  appearance.  His  mind  must  have  been  prepared  for  this 
work  in  another  way  than  that  of  Luther.  Earnest  in  thought, 
scientific,  methodical,  and   endowed   with   the  systematic  power 


a.d.  1541-49.]      calvin's  mental  character.  321 

of  order,  possessing  no  enthusiasm  for  the  outward  works  of 
nature,  but  with  ardor  enough  to  plunge  into  the  mysterious 
depths  of  the  Godhead,  thinking  clearly  on  almost  every  subject, 
and  diffusing  around  him  a  genial  light;  a  sublime  piety  founded 
on  the  deep  consciousness  of  guilt ;  not  a  trifling,  but  an  earnest, 
impressive  sentiment;  a  faith  supported  by  the  conclusions  of  the 
understanding,  and  a  passionate  abhorrence  of  whatever  seemed 
to  obscure  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  were  the  qualities  which  dis- 
tinguished Calvin  in  the  office  which  he  was  now  called  upon  to 
fulfil.  His  commission  however  was  one  of  peace  :  he  felt  him- 
self impelled  to  endeavor  the  establishment  of  a  firm  reconcilia- 
tion among  all  around  him  ;  and  his  anger  was  only  excited 
when  the  contending  parties  would  not  cultivate  peace.  Every- 
thing serves  to  prove  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  restrain  the  petu- 
lant, and  to  keep  down  with  an  iron  hand  the  spirit  of  Antichrist 
which  he  saw  growing  up  among  the  protestants. 

If  it  be  asked  whether  Calvin  had  the  creative  mind  of  Luther, 
or  only  the  talent  to  employ  what  had  been  already  found,  1 
reply,  the  life  of  Calvin  answers  to  that  of  Luther  as  the  focus 
of  one  ellipse  to  the  other;  or,  the  one  sets  the  pendulum  of  the 
new  life  in  motion,  the  other  sends  it  back,  and  thence  the  whole 
work  is  carried  forward.  The  one  man  had  as  much  original 
force  as  the  other.  Calvin  thoroughly  considered  the  reformation, 
promoted  it  according  to  his  own  principles,  and  was  as  creative 
as  Luther,  but  his  activity  was  not  attended  with  the  same 
renown.  He  was  the  second  in  the  field,  and  his  spiritual  energy 
is  less  easily  understood.  We  may  indeed  assert,  that  he  not 
only  formed  that  contrast  to  Luther  which  the  latter  could  not 
find  in  Zwingli's  spirit,  but  also  that,  after  Luther,  his  appearance 
in  France  at  this  time  was  necessary.  In  Germany  his  labors 
would  not  have  been  blessed.  He  was  raised  to  become  the 
reformer  of  the  south.  It  has  occurred  to  me,  in  considering 
the  peculiarities  of  these  two  men,  that  Calvin  might  have  been 
regarded  as  better  adapted  to  Germany,  and  Luther  to  France. 
But  as  far  as  the  world  is  concerned,  what  a  wonderfully 
different  turn  would  have  been  given  to  the  whole  affair  ?  It 
would  not  however  have  been  a  happy  one.  The  formation  of 
the  two  people  would  have  been  altogether  changed  ;  another 
history  would  have  been  presented  to  our  observation,  but  no 
reformation.  We  should  have  had  to  read  only  of  a  popular 
convulsion,  followed  by  irregular  and  partial  changes.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  Luther  would   have  atoned  for  his  rashness 

vol.  i. — 21 


322  LUTHER    AND    CALVIN.  [CHAP.  I 

at  the  stake ;  that  Fiance  would  suddenly  have  become  prot- 
estant,  and  as  quickly  have  relapsed.  There  was  something 
indeed  in  his  personal  character  very  attractive  to  the  French, 
and  especially  to  the  king,  on  whose  conversion  to  the  new  doc- 
trines, that  of  the  court  and  of  the  nation  itself  obviously  de- 
pended. His  bold,  chivalrous  nature,  his  vehement  bearing,  the 
richness  of  his  imagination,  his  haughtiness,  and  even  his  out- 
ward appearance,  so  fitted  for  his  work,  would  have  created  in 
France  the  most  powerful  impression  in  his  favor.  His  mental 
character  was,  it  is  true,  simply  German ;  but  the  French  people, 
as  their  old  language  in  its  profound  harmony  well  proves,  had 
not  then  become  strange  to  this  spirit.  Still  the  nation  would 
never  have  been  permanently  converted  through  any  vain  enthu- 
siasm for  shining  personal  qualities. 

Calvin,  on   the  other  hand,  of  a  thoughtful,  practical  disposi- 
tion, impressed  with  the  purest  love  of  duty,  and  always  reducing 
his  ideas  and  plans  to  practice,  would  have  experienced  in  Ger- 
many  great   contradiction    to   his    understanding,  learning    and 
solidity.     His  failings  might  probably  have  been  forgiven.     The 
main  feature  in  his  character,  as  we   have  often  remarked,  was 
truthfulness  even  in  the  least  matter.     Thence  his  strictness,  and 
his  prudent  thought,  so  very  much  opposed  to  the  French  mind, 
as  it  was  then  already  beginning  to  be  formed.     And  thence  the 
fact,  that  his  own  country-people,  even  to  the  present  day,  but 
badly  understand  him  ;  while  the  Germans  feel  so  much  admira- 
tion   and  respect   for    his    merits.      Then    his  humble    mode  of 
living,    which    renders    him  so   worthy   of  love   in    our  eyes,    is 
altogether  without  interest  to  the  French.     Luther's  lively,  frolic 
humor,  on  the  contrary  ;  his  love  of  jesting,  his  taste,  not  disin- 
clined to  social   pleasures,  were  altogether  adapted  to  the  south. 
Bossuet  himself,  who  angrily  condemns  him,  seems  to  have  im- 
bibed, in  spite  of  his  judgment,  a  sort  of  admiration  and  friend- 
ship for  him,  which  every  now  and  then  gleam  forth.     Tiie  stern 
Calvin  would,  again,  have  prospered  in  Germany    as   a  mighty 
judge  of  morals:  he  would  have  made  the  Saxons  feel  the  yoke 
of  discipline,  and  would  probably  have  established,  in  spite  of  all 
difficulties,    the    free    presbyterian    constitution,    which    Luther 
rejected,  and  which  would,  there  is  little  doubt,  have  soon  been 
dissolved,  like  that  which  Philip  of  Hesse  in  vain  endeavored  to 
introduce  into  his  states. 

Thus  both  Calvin  and  Luther  would  probably  have  been  ad- 
mired,  for   their   personal  qualities,  by   the  foreign    people ;  but 


A.D.  1541-40.]       IMPORTANT    POSITION    OF    GENEVA.  323 

they  would  never  have  become  the  reformers  of  their  land. 
Hence  the  ruling  wisdom  of  the  Lord  found  it  good  to  send  the 
fervent,  active  man  to  the  earnest,  quiet,  inquiring  people,  giving 
him  the  feeling  of  an  inner  life;  and  the  thinking,  morally  influ- 
ential reformer,  as  a  check  to  the  light,  cheerful,  volatile  people 
of  the  south.  And  the  secret  judgment  of  God  might  be  here 
at  work.  It  might  be  ordained  that  salvation  should  proceed 
from  Germany ;  that  from  Germany  the  papal  power  should 
receive  its  chastisement,  for  all  the  evil  which  it  had  brought 
upon  the  land  and  the  empire ;  that  France,  on  the  other 
hand,  should  suffer  heavy  punishment  for  its  persecution  of  the 
faith ;  and,  because  it  cast  away  the  restraints  of  Calvinism, 
should  descend,  step  by  step,  from  unbelief  to  the  lowest  moral 
degradation,  till,  every  righteous  principle  being  sacrificed,  it 
should  see  its  bright  lilies,  drunk  with  blood,  fade  away,  and 
only  recover  its  proper  spirit  and  its  greatness  when  it  should 
learn  to  love  this,  so  little  understood,  but  holy,  and  God-sent 
doctrine. 

If  we  turn  from  this  unhappy  country,  and  look  to  Switzer- 
land, Geneva  will  appear  as  the  proper  scene  of  Calvin's  efforts. 
Here  the  rude  licentiousness  and  antichristian  disposition  of  the 
age  were  more  than  anywhere  prevalent.  The  little  state,  with- 
out the  infusion  of  some  true  heroic  principle,  must  soon  have 
been  dissolved,  and  have  fallen  a  prey  to  the  neighboring 
powers  of  Bern,  Savoy  or  France.  It  may  thank  the  force  and 
activity  of  the  council,  inspired  by  a  new  religious  life,  for  its 
very  existence.  And  this  council  was  in  great  part  composed  of 
men  from  the  adjoining  lands,  and  who  knew  how  to  honor  the 
principles  and  foresight  of  the  reformer.  The  old  Genevese 
might  be  excellent  champions  on  the  side  of  freedom,  but  they 
were  too  volatile  to  protect  or  preserve  it.  But  when  the  little 
republic  became  the  centre  of  a  religious  revolution,  it  drew  upon 
it  the  observation  of  the  great,  who  willingly  afforded  it  defence 
against  its  dangerous  neighbors.  To  this  may  be  added,  the 
excellent  and  peculiar  situation  of  Geneva  as  the  capital  of  the 
reformation.  Placed  as  it  was  on  the  borders  of  Italy,  France 
and  Switzerland,  it  is  easy  to  see  in  how  important  a  manner 
the  appearance  of  Calvin  in  this  little  state  was  connected  with 
the  great  historical  events  of  the  world. 

The  secret  necessity  of  his  mission,  at  this  period,  arises  imme- 
diately from  the  mighty  influence  of  his  doctrine.  The  world 
expected  the  operation  of  such  a  mind  as  his ;  and  thence  the 


324  INFLUENCE    OF    CALVINISM.  [ciIAP.  I. 

rapid  diffusion  and  the  easy  victory  of  his  system.  It  was  for 
Calvin  to  perfect  the  work  begun  by  Luther  and  Zwingli,  to 
establish  a  more  spiritual  understanding  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and,  by  a  further  development  of  protestant  Augustinism,  effec- 
tually to  oppose  the  half-Pelagian  Christianity  of  the  world. 
Mankind  needed  to  be  roused  on  this  side,  the  opposite  doctrine 
having  already  taken  too  deep  a  root.  Calvin  felt  himself,  as 
it  were,  instinctively  impelled  to  uphold  his  principles  against  all 
opposition,  and  often  without  seeing  the  practical  use  of  his 
proceedings.  He  offended  many,  and,  keeping  the  bow  as  he 
did  at  full  stretch,  had  always  a  difficult  problem  to  solve.  The 
Lutheran  and  Zwinglian  Augustinism  was  long  not  sufficiently 
powerful  to  break  the  catholic  power  of  the  deeply-rooted  errors 
of  Pelagianism.  The  Formula  Concordia:  shows  how  Ger- 
many, soon  after  Luther's  death,  smoothed  away  the  rugged 
points  of  protestantism.  This,  its  original  roughness,  was  ne- 
cessary ;  it  was  a  blessing  to  the  world.  And  although  in  its 
original  power,  and  at  its  first  appearance,  many  exaggerations 
were  displayed,  yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  a  new  and 
original  force  will  always  be  accompanied  with  somewhat  of 
violence  in  its  exercise,  if  its  influence  is  to  extend  to  distant 
times ;  and  that  the  human  spirit  can  rarely  at  the  onset  pre- 
serve the  right  measure.  With  all  its  faults,  indeed,  we  may 
discover  the  actual  influence  of  Calvinism  on  the  civilization  of 
Europe  ;  at  one  time,  through  the  exaltation  of  believing  souls, 
and  the  scientific  elements  of  the  system,  which  were  continually 
acquiring  a  wider  range ;  and  at  another,  through  the  practical 
effects  by  which  it  was  attended,  the  sound  eloquence,  the  careful 
criticism  and  study  of  language.  Calvin's  exegetical  method, 
founded  upon  philosophical  and  scientific  knowledge,  startled 
France  and  Geneva :  it  awakened  the  spirit  of  reflection.  From 
this  thoughtfulness  flowed  in  later  times,  unforeseen  even  by  Cal- 
vin himself,  that  light,  that  clear  intelligence,  that  spirit  of  in- 
quiry, which  the  cultivation  of  modern  times  encouraged,  and 
which  banished  numerous  errors  and  abuses,  shared  even  by  the 
reformer.  We  may,  alas  !  ascribe  the  excessive  love  of  philoso- 
phizing, prevalent  in  later  times,  to  the  habit  of  inquiry  inspired 
by  Calvin. 

But  it  was  not  on  France  or  Switzerland  only  that  he  exer- 
cised this  influence :  it  extended  to  Holland,  England,  and 
Scotland,  where  Knox  displayed  the  true  courage  of  a  reformer  ; 
and  even  to  Germany,  where  it  appeared  to  many  as  a  benignant, 


A.D.  1541-49.]  INFLUENCE    OF    CALVINISM.  325 

salutary  spirit,  the  support  and  comfort  of  needy  souls.  The 
weaker  spirit  of  Zwingli,  the  \  icillating  voice  of  a  Cranmer,  and 
others,  were  overpowered  by  that  of  Calvin  ;  and  the  various 
churches  which  sprung  from  Calvinism,  and  flourished  under  the 
title  of  reformed,  prove  by  their  spirit,  their  defects  and  their 
piety,  of  whose  mind  they  were  the  offspring. 

That  which  secured  to  this  spirit  so  marked  a  victory,  and  so 
comprehensive  an  authcnty,  was  the  power  with  which  it  pro- 
pounded and  supported  by  argument,  the  grandest  principles  of 
Christian  doctrine.  It  referred  all  to  these,  and  thereby  im- 
pressed upon  the  soul  the  sublimest  notion  of  the  living  God  and 
of  eternal  salvation.  To  be  elected  by  God,  or  eternally  repro- 
bated, is  so  solemn  a  consideration,  that  it  harrows  the  conscience, 
and  allows  no  one  to  remain  in  indifference.  The  world  needed 
the  powerful  working  of  this  element,  though  it  directly  opposed 
the  common  and  ruling  principles  of  the  age,  and  the  prevailing 
notions  of  the  godhead,  darkened  by  scholasticism  and  vain 
imaginations.  Many  were  the  souls  which  thirsted  after  it,  and 
gladly  seized  upon  a  doctrine  which  seemed  to  them  to  come 
from  God. 

We  may  discover,  even  to  the  present  times,  the  working  of 
this  powerful  Calvinistic  spirit,  grounded  upon  conviction  and 
producing  conviction  in  the  striking  manifestations  of  Methodism, 
diffusing  the  severest  doctrines  of  Calvinism.  It  may  still  rise 
again  in  fierce  conflict  against  protestant  principles,  and  bring 
with  it  an  overwhelming  power,  because  it  announces  the 
mightiest  of  doctrines,  the  profoundest  principle  of  salvation,  with 
a  force  which  astounds  unbelief  itself.  And  with  this  fundamen- 
tal doctrine  are  united,  not  only  the  excellences,  but  all  the  fail- 
ings and  errors  of  Calvinism, — its  intolerance  and  its  wrath  against 
those  who  would  not  adopt,  with  the  clearly  demonstrated  doc- 
trine itself,  all  its  adjuncts  and  consequences,  —  the  culpable 
extravagances  of  those  who  wished  to  introduce,  by  means  of 
predestination,  the  belief  in  a  fate,  according  to  which  everything 
that  happens  is  good,  simply  because  it  does  happen.  It  is  curi- 
ous to  find,  throughout  the  history  of  the  reformed  churches,  the 
Calvinistic  spirit  in  all  its  phases;  and  to  meet  continually  with 
traces  of  the  man,  whom  we  learnt  to  know  in  Strasburg,  in 
Geneva,  and  in  his  works. 

The  results  of  the  most  powerful  operations  of  Calvin's  mind 
were  exhibited  in  France.  It  was  in  that  country  they  were 
most  needed  ;  and  we   see  the  fairest  side  of  his  character  dis- 


326  PRACTICAL    TENDENCY    OF    CALVINISM.  [CHAP.  I. 

played  in  the  sublime  records  of  its  reformed  church.  His  pro- 
found and  lively  piety,  his  life  of  faith,  his  conscientiousness 
and  truth,  combined  with  an  enlightened  and  scientific  mind, 
introducing  an  epoch  of  nobler  instruction  for  the  country,  ami 
thence  working  upon  all  Europe, — his  sincere  devotion  to  the 
Gospel,  his  pure,  free,  apostolic  sentiments,  his  genuine,  spiritual, 
and  theocratic  direction  of  the  synod  and  its  constitution,  his 
habits  of  discipline,  free  from  oppression,— all  these,  the  noble 
peculiarities  of  his  character,  were  thus  clearly  and  distinctly 
displayed.  We  are  made  acquainted,  at  the  same  time,  with 
the  most  remarkable  men  who  shone  in  Geneva,  and  created 
that  seminary  of  sound  learning  to  which  scholars  thronged 
from  all  parts  of  Europe.  A  high-school  of  theology  was 
formed  in  France:  great  minds  threw  a  new  lustre  on  the 
academies  of  Sedan,  Saumur,  and  Montauban.  Who  can  refuse 
to  honor  them?  Learned  men  arose,  as  Moses  Amyraut, 
Samuel  Bochart  preacher  at  Caen,  Louis  Chapelle  professor 
of  the  oriental  languages  at  Saumur,  Mornay,  Blondel,  Salma- 
sius,  Du  Moulin,  D'Aille,  Camero  professor  at  Sedan,  Saumur 
and  Montauban,  Maresius,  La  Placette,  Saurin,  and  controver- 
sialists, as  Claude,  Jurieu,  and  the  church  historian  Jacob 
Basnage. 

Nor  was  it  by  a  scientific  instruction  only  that  this  good  spirit 
obtained  its  influence  ;  it  gained  a  still  deeper  root  by  its  moral 
leaching.  Scientific  improvement  was  always  a  secondary  con- 
sideration with  Calvin  ;  so  was  it  also  with  the  reformed  church. 
With  both,  Christian  knowledge  was  the  first  object,  and  through 
their  pure  spirit  it  has  wrought  upon  humanity  at  large,  and 
especially  in  Europe. 

It  is  remarkable  indeed  that  the  church,  which  threatened, 
by  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  to  trample  morality  under  foot, 
in  opposition  to  Lutheranism,  should  give  a  far  higher  stand  to 
practical  moral  instruction,  and  produce  a  large  number  of  cele- 
brated moralists,  who  reduced  their  principles  to  a  system  ;  as, 
Lambertus  Daneus,  Pictet,  M.  Amyraut,  and  La  Placette.  The 
Lutherans,  on  the  other  hand,  often  suppressed  the  attempt  to 
introduce  practical  instruction,  as  a  species  of  heretical  pietism. 
Ample  proofs  of  this  are  a  Horded  in  the  lives  of  Arndt,  Scrivers, 
and  Spener. 

In  explanation  of  this  phenomenon,  we  may  adduce  the  evidently 
practical  disposition  of  Calvin  himself,  who,  the  deeper  he  looked 
into  the  incomprehensibleness  of  human   liberty,  by  so  much  the 


A. D.  1541-49.]  INFLUENCE    OF    CALVINISM.  327 

more  earnestly  called  upon  man  to  act.  The  reformed  churches 
in  England,  in  the  Netherlands  and  in  Germany,  manifested  a 
similar  desire  to  cultivate  practical  morality. 

The  history  of  Holland  further  shows  us  the  victory  of  the  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrine,  and  the  thirst  of  souls  after  its  spiritual  influ- 
ence. At  first  the  mild  opinions  of  Melancthon  on  the  subject  of 
election  prevailed  in  that  country ;  but  the  clergy  soon  required 
of  the  states  that  those  of  Calvin  should  be  adopted.  The  con- 
troversy between  Arminius  and  Gomarus  afforded  an  example 
for  all  times,  and  the  struggle  between  a  belief  softened  by  the 
natural  feeling  of  freedom,  and  the  stern,  cutting,  loftily  conceived 
principles  of  Augustine,  then  so  necessary  to  the  world.  Two 
political  parties  were  soon  founded.  The  people  upheld  religion 
with  freedom  ;  and  consequently  both  systems,  as  in  Geneva, 
were  arbitrarily  bound  together.  Indeed  some  political  elements 
have  always  been  mixed  up  with  the  pure  Calvinistic  element. 
The  theocratic  spirit  of  Calvin  necessarily  blended  religion  with 
the  state ;  it  required  its  assistance  for  the  government  of  the 
church ;  and  thus,  even  in  France,  the  protestant  church,  though 
far  from  pleasing  to  Calvin,  soon  became  a  political  party.  In 
Holland,  prince  Maurice  usurped,  in  the  midst  of  the  troubles, 
a  large  share  of  power  in  church  affairs;  he  assembled  a  synod, 
persecuted  the  Arminians, — among  them,  Grotius  and  Nyten- 
bogaert ;  and  at  the  famous  synod  of  Dort  the  Calvinistic 
doctrines,  completely  victorious,  were  established  by  a  solemn 
decree.  The  Huguenots  in  France  felt  themselves  compelled  to 
yield  to  this  decision,  and  the  liberal-minded  Grotius,  who  was 
then  at  Charenton,  suffered  banishment  by  a  sentence  of  the 
church. 

In  the  remarkable  history  of  England,  interwoven  as  it  is 
with  sufferings  and  with  crimes,  we  see  the  strong,  lofty,  but 
dangerous  influence  of  Calvinism;  which,  while  rightly  under- 
stood, gives  peace  and  order  to  the  world;  but  which,  in  its  per- 
verted forms,  is  attended  by  the  dissolution  of  all  principles 
whatsoever.  Under  Elizabeth  a  milder  doctrine  prevailed  in 
England,  and  was  supported  in  the  episcopal  church  with  no 
slight  degree  of  intolerance  against  the  presbyterians.  In  Scot- 
land however  the  Calvinistic  system  struggled  successfully 
for  its  existence,  and  made  religion  a  matter  of  party  strife. 
Liberal  politics  became  mixed  up  with  presbytcrianism,  and  the 
synodal  form  of  church  government  diffused  freer  ideas,  in  op- 
position   to    the  influence  of  episcopacy.     AVhen  James  I.  and 


328  CALVINISM    IN    GERMANY.  [CHAP.  I. 

Charles  I.  imprudently  allowed  themselves  to  make  attacks  on 
the  rights  of  the  presbyterian  church,  skilful  revolutionists  were 
will  acquainted  with  the  art  of  leading  the  people,  under  the 
pretence  of  zeal  for  their  religion,  to  the  most  horrible  excesses. 
Thus  the  murder  of  Charles  I.  was  regarded  as  an  act  proceeding 
from  God,  and  as  morally  good,  because  Cod  allowed  it,  and 
therefore,  it  was  argued,  willed  it.  Even  Cromwell,  who  upon 
his  death-bed  comforted  himself  with  the  fancy  that  he  was  one 
of  the  predestinate,  and  expelled  hypocrisy  by  hypocrisy,  shows 
by  his  own  painful  example,  what  a  devilish  misuse  may  be  made 
of  so  pure  a  doctrine.  But  if,  on  the  one  side,  the  exclusive  view 
of  the  doctrine  of  eternal  election  leads  many  to  such  fearful 
absurdities,  as  formerly  the  contemplation  of  the  starry  heavens 
gave  birth  to  astrology  ;  so,  on  the  other  side,  when  the  storm 
was  spent,  the  Calvinistic  system  in  Scotland  remained  victorious 
in  its  holiness ;  and,  deeply  planted  among  the  people  by  wise 
and  prudent  teachers,  it  has  continued  to  bestow  upon  them  the 
greatest  and  surest  blessings. 

But  we  see  the  divine  influence  of  that  pure  spirit  more  in 
Germany  than  in  any  other  country.  It  did  not  triumph  here 
through  the  medium  of  speculation  or  through  fanaticism  ;  but 
when  Lutheranism,  in  its  old  form,  was  dead,  it  acted  upon  it 
with  a  quickening  power,  and,  by  the  instruction  and  the  practi- 
cal character  which  appeared  in  the  schools  of  Calixtus  and  Me- 
laucthon,  gave  it  a  new  life.  It  must  be  allowed,  indeed,  that 
the  then  position  of  the  two  churches  was  useful  to  both  :  it  was 
that  of  the  steel  upon  the  grindstone.  But  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of 
remark,  and  it  may  be  taken  as  a  noble  instance  of  Calvin's 
peaceable  disposition,  that  the  best  efforts  in  favor  of  union  pro- 
ceeded from  the  reformed  church. 

In  England,  as  has  been  observed,  the  Calvinistic  spirit  was 
awakened  a  hundred  years  before  Wesley  began  his  great  work 
in  that  country.  Wesley  might  be  called  the  restorer  of  the 
Calvinistic  edifice,  because  he  did,  for  the  revival  of  the  church, 
what  Calvin  in  his  time  and  under  his  circumstances  could  not 
yet  do.  Putting  polemics  aside,  he  directed  the  whole  of  his 
attention  to  the  doctrine  of  redemption  through  belief  in  the 
Saviour,  and  to  the  duty  of  seeking  the  conversion  of  the  hea- 
then,— the  latter  a  subject  on  which  the  reformers  could  not  think. 
Adopting  tbe  idea  of  presbyterianism  from  a  higher  point 
of  view,  be  established  lay-priests,  who,  traversing  the  coun- 
try in    its    length    and  breadth,  imparted    a  wondrous  strength 


A.D.   1541-49.]  UNION    OF    THE    CHURCHES.  329 

and  life  to  the  torpid  faith  of  the  wretched  people.  Though 
adopting  the  other  parts  of  the  Calvinistic  system,  he  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  predestination.  Whitfield  however,  his  fellow-laborer, 
received  it  in  all  its  extent,  and  planted  it  victoriously  among  the 
existing  methodist  churches,  from  which  have  proceeded  the 
missions,  so  rich  in  blessed  effects,  and  the  first  establishment  of 
Bible-societies.  Thus  the  methodist  community  formed  the  pecu- 
liarly and  positively  living  side  of  the  reformed  church ;  as, 
almost  at  the  same  time,  it  happened  in  regard  to  the  Lutheran 
church,  through  the  institution  of  the  Hernhutters ;  and  the  life 
which  the  church  now  enjoys  flows  from  this  source. 

We  look  in  our  own  time  upon  the  new  church,  which  is  now 
rising  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  edifice.  The  opposition  in  prot- 
estantism has  ceased ;  the  churches  are  united ;  the  more  spirit- 
ual view  of  the  Lord's  Supper  has  generally  conquered :  the 
reformed  have,  on  the  other  hand,  given  up  the  rougher  parts  of 
the  doctrine  of  predestination :  both  churches  have  banished  the 
spirit  of  intolerance. 

From  the  elevation  thus  attained,  we  look  back  upon  the  cradle 
of  this  power,  and  it  is  more  than  ever  our  duty  to  listen  to  the 
reformer.  As  Calvin  has  exercised  so  mighty  an  influence  for 
the  last  three  hundred  years,  so  is  he  still  the  man  who  gives  life 
to  the  age,  and  by  the  clearness  of  his  reasonings,  byhis  firm 
and  clear  spirit,  is  restoring  us  in  some  measure  to  order.  And 
we  say  to  the  youth  of  our  times,  excited  by  the  storms  of  con- 
tending principles,  and  at  a  period  when  so  many  antichristian 
movements  heap  contempt  on  truth  and  morality,  "  See  !  here 
stands  that  iron  man,  who  never  knew  throughout  his  life  what 
doubt  was,  and  who  subjected  himself  like  a  child  to  the  authority 
of  the  holy  Scriptures." 


CHAPTER  n. 

calvin's  first  arrival  at  geneva. 

Bern,  since  the  victory  of  the  synod  of  Lausanne,  had  exercised 
a  marked  influence  in  Geneva.  The  citizens,  fearing  that  the 
Bernese  might  at  length  acquire  the  same  power  as  the  dukes 


330  calvin's  arrival  at  geneva.  [chap.  II. 

of  Savoy,  soon  formed  political  unions  in  opposition  to  the 
former,  and  the  necessity  began  to  be  felt  and  acknowledged  of 
recalling  the  banished  preachers.  The  party  opposed  to  Calvin 
was  bridled.  His  two  letters  to  the  Genevese,  and  his  answer 
to  Sadolet,  had  awakened  the  strongest  feeling  in  his  favor. 
Animated  by  a  pure  apostolic  zeal,  his  words  to  Sadolet  were. 
that  ':  he  could  not  cease  to  love  his  people  as  his  own  soul, — 
Geneva,  which  God  had  entrusted  to  him,  and  towards  which 
he  must  continue  to  act  with  truth  and  faithfulness."  Viret,  who 
had  been  invited  to  Geneva,  had  promoted  Calvin's  work,  but 
Christian  earnestness  was  still  wanting.  We  see  from  the  state- 
protocol  how  frolic  the  dispositions  of  the  people  were,  how  gay 
their  mode  of  life ;  songs,  dances,  and  masquerades  employing 
their  chief  attention,  and  exciting  the  severe  reproofs  of  the 
council.  Thus  the  lady  of  the  senator  Perrin,  whose  love  of 
dancing  afterwards  gave  the  reformer  so  much  trouble,  was, 
before  her  conversion,  punished  according  to  the  rules  of 
discipline  established  at  the  reformation,  on  account  of  her 
dancing. 

The  little  state  was  agitated  throughout  by  the  expectation  of 
Calvin's  arrival.  Some  notices  show  how  friendly  the  council 
received  him.  A  herald  was  sent  on  horseback  to  his  residence 
at  Strasburg.  It  was  also  determined  that  his  wife,  together  with 
his  furniture,  should  be  brought  to  Geneva  at  the  public  expense. 
A  proper  attendant  was  therefore  provided  for  her.  with  three 
horses,  a  supply  of  money,  and  whatever  else  might  be  necessary 
for  the  journey.  A  house  well-fitted  up  was  prepared  to  receive 
him,  and  eight  dollars  were  given  to  buy  cloth  pour  lu  robe  de 
Maistre  Calvin,  ministre  evangelique.  The  pulpit  in  St.  Peter's 
church  was  also  conveniently  fitted  up,  before  his  arrival,  for  the 
sermon  :  it  was  fixed  to  a  large,  broad  pillar,  and  not  high,  so 
that  the  preacher  was  near  the  people. 

We  seem  to  behold  the  animated,  earnest  man,  proceeding  to 
his  appointed  dwelling,  probably  in  the  highest  part  of  the  city, 
and  with  a  little  garden  at  the  back.*  It  was  not  far  from  his 
house  either  to  St.  Peter's,  where  the  consistory  held  its  meet- 
ings, or  to  the  old  church,  in  which  he  preached  and  taught. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Rue  des  Chanoines  one  has  a  wide, 
open  view  over  the  fortifications,  which  were  then  extensive,  of 
the  Jura   mountains  and  the  two  Salevcs  on  the  opposite  side. 

*  This  opinion  is  founded  on  some  expressions  in  Lis  will;  and  from  the  men- 
tion of  a  garden  in  what  was  said  before  his  arrival,  respecting  his  dwelling. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CALVIN    IN    GENEVA.  331 

Calvin  would  not  allow  himself  to  seek  refuge  among  the  beau- 
ties of  nature,  but  he  so  much  the  oftener  cast  a  glance  beyond 
the  Alps  upon  the  distracted  countries  which  lay  around  :  and 
news  from  the  great  provinces  of  Europe  formed  the  frequent  sub- 
ject of  his  conversation  with  his  friends. 

All  the  hopes  excited  by  the  diet  of  Ratisbone  had  proved 
vain :  both  parties  were  dissatisfied  with  this  termination.  In 
Hungary,  king  Zapol,  Ferdinand's  opponent,  was  now  dead. 
Soliman  had  made  himself  master  of  the  country  by  treachery, 
and  the  emperor  found  it  necessary  to  arouse  the  Germans  with- 
out delay  to  attack  the  common  enemy.  He  himself  went  tc 
Italy,  his  mind  filled  with  thoughts  of  a  great  under  taking,  the 
conquest  of  Algiers  and  the  humbling  of  the  Sultan.  His  prep- 
arations were  on  a  large  scale,  but  yet  were  too  little  for  the 
design.  Heaven  did  not  favor  him.  A  terrible  storm  destroyed 
the  camp  of  the  troops  which  were  landed,  and  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  draw  Hassan  out  of  Algiers.  Time  was  scarcely 
allowed  for  the  deliverance  of  a  part  of  the  troops.  Another 
tempest  dispersed  the  fleet ;  and  the  emperor,  deeply  humbled, 
but  not  disheartened,  returned  to  Spain,  and  immediately  after 
prepared  to  attack  the  king  of  Prance.  In  Germany  the  evan- 
gelical party  were  in  treaty  with  England  and  France,  and 
Francis  gave  deceitful  promises,  while  actually  encouraging  the 
persecution  of  our  brethren  in  his  dominions.  The  diet  of  Spires 
was  announced  in  January,  1542.  Such  was  the  state  of  public 
affairs  when  Calvin  began  to  exercise  his  office  at  Geneva  as  a 
preacher  of  repentance. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival,  on  one  week-day,  the  great  bell 
called  Clemence  sent  its  deep  tones  far  and  wide  over  the  city 
and  the  neighboring  valleys.  The  people  flocked  to  the  church. 
A  day  of  penitence  was  to  be  kept.  All  the  three  councils  as- 
sembled, and  the  preachers  announced  to  the  congregation  that 
a  heavy  judgment  impended  over  it;  that  the  Christian  churches 
were  everywhere  threatened  with  the  pestilence,  with  the  in- 
vasion and  the  desolating  fury  of  the  Turks  ;  and  they  exhorted 
their  hearers  to  humble  themselves,  and  to  turn  to  the  Lord  and 
entreat  him  for  their  brethren.  The  sacrament  having  been 
celebrated,  and  solemn  prayer  offered  up  to  God  to  take  the  city 
under  his  protection,  Calvin  then  proceeded  to  address  the  con- 
gregation in  his  own  peculiarly  devout  and  solemn  tone. 

We  leave  him  to  his  sermon,  and  will  endeavor  to  give  some 
\dea  of  his  work  by  the  following  extracts  from  his  letters.     Thus 


332  CALVIN    IN    GENEVA.  [CHAP.  II. 

lie  writes  to  Farel :— "  The  people  are  generally  obedient  here  ; 
they  at  least  listen  diligently  to  their  preachers.  Their  morals 
are  tolerably  good,  but  there  are  still  many  errors  both  of  head 
and  heart,  which,  if  they  be  not  gradually  rooted  out,  will  occa- 
sion, I  fear,  the  greatest  evils.  Against  such  inner  domestic  ene- 
mies we  should  contend  with  the  greatest  resolution.  This  you 
well  know.  You  know  equally  well  what  fellow-laborers  I 
have." 

One  thought  especially  employed  him  at  that  time.  He  wished 
to  retain  Farel  and  Viret  in  Geneva,  that  they  might  form  a 
middle  point  of  evangelical  power, — a  sacred  triumvirate.  But 
Neufchatel  would  not  spare  Farel,  and  Viret  soon  removed. 

Again  he  writes  to  Farel : — "  May  God  make  all  things  turn 
out  for  the  best !  I  am  now  brought  back,  as  you  originally 
wished.  It  is  necessary  however  that  I  should  have  Viret  here, 
nor  can  I  allow  him  to  be  snatched  away  from  me.  It  is  also 
your  duty  to  help  me  with  all  the  brethren,  unless  you  are  will- 
ing that  I  should  labor  to  no  purpose,  and  be  without  use  the  un- 
happiest  of  men." 

But  the  first  undertaking  which  employed  his  whole  attention 
was  the  establishment  of  a  court  of  morals,  and  with  this  was 
closely  connected  the  entire  revisal  of  the  Genevese  laws. 

"  When  I  offered,"  says  Calvin,  "  my  help  to  the  senate,  I 
showed  that  the  church  could  not  stand  unless  a  firm  govern- 
ment was  established,  such  a  one  as  is  prescribed  to  us  in  God's 
Word,  and  was  in  use  in  the  old  church.  I  urged  many  points, 
from  which  they  might  easily  understand  what  I  wished.  And 
because  the  whole  thing  did  not  appear  clearly  understood,  I 
prayed  that  some  people  might  be  given  us  who  might  aid  in 
the  discussion.  They  allowed  us  six.  The  several  articles  of 
church  government  were  now  detailed,  as  to  be  proposed  to  the 
senate.  Three  of  our  colleagues  testify  that  they  are  of  the  same 
mind  with  us  both.  We  may  hope  that  something  will  be 
done." 

This  famous  experiment  to  restore  the  Roman  hierarchical 
despotism  in  an  aristocratic  form,  necessarily  brought  with  it  a 
species  of  church  polity.  The  consistory  was  the  stated  censor 
of  the  burghers,  who  were  to  be  rendered  victorious  by  means 
of  a  certain  external  discipline  or  education,  if  religion  and 
honor  were  found  not  to  avail.  Thus  a  theocracy  was  still  to 
be  preserved,  as  in  the  Roman  church,  but  changed  altogether 
in  form  and   spirit.     The  church  ^as  intimately  bound  up  with 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  policy.  333 

the  state.  The  state  defended  the  church,  which  submitted  itself 
to  it ,  and  the  church  in  turn  ruled  the  state,  because  all  the 
burghers  were  under  the  inspection  of  the  consistory. 

We  can  see  in  the  prosecution  of  these  ideas  the  resolute  and 
iron  will  of  the  man  who  came  forth  to  restore  order  to  the  world. 
No  opposition,  no  resistance  could  break  his  purpose  or  disturb 
his  plan.  He  was  banished,  because  he  pursued  with  unremit- 
ting zeal  this  object,  the  establishment  of  order.  In  Stras- 
burg  he  labored  for  the  same  end,  and  with  equal  energy.  He 
would  only  return  to  Geneva  with  the  return  of  discipline  ;  and 
a  few  weeks  after  his  arrival,  the  system  of  legislation  for  which 
he  contended  was  confirmed.  It  was  with  him  a  matter  of  con- 
science, a  thing  not  to  be  disregarded,  especially  because  to  him 
an  offence  against  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  horri- 
ble and  martyred  his  conscience.  Hence  he  pursued  this  plan 
his  whole  life  through,  with  a  resolution  which  seemed  as  if  his 
own  salvation  were  depending  upon  its  success.  The  greatest 
hindrances  appeared  at  the  very  commencement.  In  a  letter  to 
Myconius  he  speaks  of  his  great  trouble,  of  the  opposition  dis- 
played on  the  part  of  the  nobility  and  clergy,  but  much  less  on 
that  of  the  people,  who  saw  in  the  institution  of  discipline  the 
means  of  humbling  the  higher  classes. 

"  There  are,"  he  says,  "  many  seeds  of  dissension  in  the  city, 
but  by  gentleness  and  patience  we  hope  to  save  the  church  from 
suffering  on  that  account,  and  to  keep  the  people  free  from  its 
consequences.  It  is  well  known  how  mild  and  humane  Viret  is  ; 
and  I  am  no  rougher,  at  least  in  this  respect.  You  will  scarcely 
believe  it,  yet  so  it  is.  I  take  the  preservation  of  peace  and 
unity  so  to  heart,  that  I  do  violence  to  myself.  My  friends 
must  allow  me  this  praise.  May  the  Lord  grant  that  I  may 
always  retain  this  feeling,  great  as  is  the  resistance  with  which 
I  have  to  struggle.  When  we  proposed  the  rules  of  discipline, 
the  preachers  openly  agreed  with  us,  because  they  were  ashamed 
to  oppose  so  reasonable  a  plan  ;  but  they  secretly  gave  the  coun- 
cil to  understand  that  they  must  take  care  not  to  cast  away  their 
authority,  and  so  cause  an  insurrection.  This  treachery  was 
not  to  be  suffered ;  but  we  have  so  managed  the  affair  that  no 
dispute  has  arisen.  We  have  now,  at  all  events,  a  tribunal  of 
church-elders,  authorized  to  manage  ecclesiastical  affairs ;  and 
an  established  discipline,  as  good  as  one  could  desire  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  things.  But  this  has  not  been  accomplished  with- 
out very  much  trouble:  for  there  are  everywhere  profane  spirits 


334  RULES    OF    DISCIPLINE.  [CHAP.  II. 

which  seek  in  all  ways  to  destroy  the  authority  of  the  church  ; 
and  the  world  will  govern  according  to  its  own  desire,  nor  sub- 
mit itself  to  the  rule  of  Christ.  David  and  Moses  are  cited 
against  us,  as  if  they  were  only  worldly  regents.  Give  us  only 
such  leaders  as  have  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  who  have  both  a  spir- 
itual and  a  temporal  power,  not  usurped,  but  possessed  accord- 
ing to  God's  command  and  calling,  and  we  will  readily  resign 
all  things  into  their  hands.  Moses  himself,  before  the  calling 
of  Aaron,  was  high-priest;  and  David  ruled  the  church,  not  with- 
out God's  command  and  help.  Other  pious  kings  have  defended 
with  their  power  the  established  ordinances,  and  have  left  to  the 
church  its  authority,  and  to  the  chief  priests  the  rule  which  was 
allowed  them  by  God." 

Numberless  occupations,  some  little,  some  great,  such  as  the 
planting  of  a  church  is  likely  to  bring  with  it,  now  crossed  each 
other  on  his  course. 

It  was  commanded  the  gay  population  of  the  sweet,  joyous 
wine-land, — the  people  who  had  so  long  resigned  themselves 
to  the  fascinations  of  the  dance  and  other  worldly  pleasures,  to 
attend  church  on  the  week-days  ;  to  be  present  on  Thursdays 
at  the  congregational  sermon,  but  afterwards  to  return  to  their 
work.  The  city  was  divided  into  three  parishes,  St.  Peter's, 
Magdalena,  and  St.  Gervais.  Calvin  and  Viret  were  to  exercise 
their  office  in  the  first  and  last  of  these  parishes.  St.  Peter's 
was  for  the  higher  class  of  persons ;  St.  Gervais  for  the  people. 
A  stated  day  of  prayer  was  appointed.  The  people  were  ordered 
to  assemble  in  St.  Peter's,  to  offer  up  prayers  for  the  neighbor- 
ing cities,  threatened  by  the  pestilence ;  and  when  the  prayer 
time  was  in  the  evening,  two  lights  were  to  be  set  up  to  give 
light,  as  it  is  said,  to  the  people, — a  protestant  luxury  this,  accord- 
ing to  early  custom.  Christmas-day  was  no  longer  to  be  kept, 
but  Ascension-day  was  still  to  be  observed. 

The  people  were  guilty  of  frequent  blasphemies.  It  was  now 
ordered,  that  any  one  who  was  convicted  of  this  offence  should 
be  led  through  the  city  in  his  shirt,  with  a  lighted  candle  in  his 
hand,  and  be  compelled  to  implore  forgiveness.  Adulterers  were 
to  be  imprisoned,  to  pay  a  fine,  and  to  do  open  penance.  The 
consistory  was  especially  ordered  to  make  diligent  inquiry  after 
the  offences  committed  at  the  marriage  of  a  citizen,  on  which 
occasion  trumpets  were  sounded,  and  masquerading,  games,  and 
such-like  things  were  seen.  All  play*  were  strictly  forbidden 
at  which  money  was   staked.     Profane  singing  was  everywhere 


A.D.  1541-49.]    DISPUTES    ON    CHURCH    PROPERTY.  335 

prohibited  ;  and  attendance  on  preaching  as  strictly  commanded. 
The  reformer  was  once  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  insulted, 
but  the  offender  was  punished  by  the  council. 

Another  care  which  the  planting  of  a  church  brought  with  it 
was  the  establishment  of  a  good  school.  The  agent  in  this  was 
Maturinus  Cordier,  who  soon  after  invited  the  famous  Castellio 
to  Geneva.  Farel  also  had  opened  a  school  at  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  reformation,  but  it  fell  into  decay.  This  shows 
the  chief  point  in  the  struggles  of  the  reformation  :  it  demanded 
light,  scientific  cultivation,  the  life  of  the  spirit.  Subsequently 
it  belonged  to  Calvin  to  found  an  academy,  and  to  assemble  a 
large  number  of  erudite  men. 

In  a  letter  dated  December,  1541,  he  expresses  his  joy  that  even 
the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  diffused  light,  and  he  exclaims,  :*  Dolet 
has  printed  the  Psalter  at  Lyons,  and  will  soon  begin  the  Bible. 
The  translation  will  be  that  of  Olivetan.  Now  let  who  can  deny 
that  Satan  himself  is  the  servant  of  God." 

Viret  left  Geneva  in  July,  1542,  and  Calvin  prayed  that  two 
assistant  preachers  might  be  chosen.  They  were  presented  be- 
fore the  three  councils.  ':  The  brethren,  whom  we  a  short  time 
since  elected,  will,  I  trust,  after  a  little  practice  prove  useful. 
For  the  rest,  those  who  are  anxious  to  advance  in  their  course, 
wish  that  I  would  preach  more  than  usual ;  this  I  have  begun  to 
do,  and  will  continue  to  do,  till  others  are  better  liked.  I  care 
little,  as  you  know,  for  commendation  and  praise,  but  I  will  do 
whatever  appears  good  for  the  edification  of  the  people.  In  re- 
gard to  my  commentary  on  the  book  of  Genesis,  if  the  Lord  pro- 
long my  life,  and  I  have  sufficient  leisure,  I  shall  probably  take 
the  work  in  hand.  My  chief  care  however  must  be  to  fulfil  my 
day  and  my  present  calling.  If  circumstances  still  prove  favor- 
•able,  I  will  then  live  for  posterity.  I  would  fain  write  more,  but 
my  wife  is  unwell,  and  hence  my  thoughts  are  distracted."' 

The  church  was  here,  as  everywhere  else,  irregularly  developed, 
and  was  partly  subject  to  the  state.  Thus  a  controversy  arose 
respecting  church  property.  The  following  striking  observations 
are  found  in  letters  written  at  this  period,  and  which  show  what 
were  Calvin's  views  on  this  important  subject  of  dispute.  He 
writes  to  Viret : — 

;i  You  see  that  the  church  is  robbed  and  left  destitute.  The 
magistrate  gives  what  he  likes,  as  if  it  were  his  own,  and  he 
might  deal  with  it  according  to  his  fancy.     It  is  not  easy  to  say 


336  DISPUTES  RESPECTING  CHURCH  PROPERTY.    [CHAP.  II. 

what  you  ought  to  do.  At  the  same  time  there  are  few  who 
have  sufficient  magnanimity  to  expose  themselves  to  hate.  Most 
men  sacrifice  their  duty  to  their  weakness,  and  prefer  retaining 
the  favor  of  the  world  to  the  hazard  of  offending  it  by  a  firm  and 
resolute  conduct.  You  will  not  effect  much,  but  at  least  we  must 
not  support  injustice." 

It  is  evident  that  he  wished  the  church  to  possess  property, 
and  pay  the  clergy,  and  that  it  should  not  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
state.  He  instructed  his  friends  how  to  act  in  this  struggle. 
"I  spoke  with  Bucer  on  this  subject  at  Ratisbone.  There  are 
two  things  for  you  to  consider.  First,  that  the  spoiling  of 
the  church  will  bring  much  vexation  with  it ;  secondly,  that  it 
is  altogether  unlawful.  The  papists  have  now  a  proper  cause 
of  complaint ;  neither  the  people,  in  whatever  corner  they  be, 
nor  the  preachers,  can  give  any  reply.  With  what  face  can 
they  defend  the  robbing  of  the  church,  thus  left  naked,  who  at- 
tack the  sacrilege  of  the  papists  ?  And  what  an  example  for  the 
princes,  who  are  only  too  ready  to  do  such  things !  Lastly, 
what  evil  consequences  must  we  not  look  for  when  the  church 
has  been  stripped  of  all !  The  second  argument  is  the  point 
around  which  the  whole  turns, — that  belongs  not  to  the  magis- 
trate, which  has  been  ever  consecrated  to  Christ  and  the  church. 
We  may  here  adduce  both  law  and  custom,  to  prove  how  these 
possessions  ought  to  be  distributed.  What  had  been  consecrated 
to  the  church  a  godless  paunch  devoured.  The  proper  use  of 
church  goods  must  be  very  well  known.  To  take  them  away, 
therefore,  is  attended  with  an  anathema  and  a  curse,  that  which 
is  holy  being  thereby  desecrated.  But  all  suspicion  must  be  care- 
fully avoided  that  you  do  not  appropriate  what  does  not  belong 
to  you.  You  must  show,  that  the  best  rule  of  reformation  is  that 
which  king  Josiah  established,  naniely,  that  the  magistrate  has. 
the  inspection,  but  the  ministers  the  administration.  You  might 
further  show,  that  you  would  be  willing  for  the  magistrate  to  re- 
tain the  right  of  administration,  provided  that  the  yearly  income 
was  fairly  distributed,  and  that  nothing  was  lost." 

On  another  occasion  Calvin  wrote,*  "  that  he  often  spoke  in 
his  sermons  of  church  property.  He  called  God  and  man  to  wit- 
ness that  a  heavy  judgment  was  hanging  over  the  city.  He  had 
gained  nothing  in  the  council,  however  earnestly  he  had  labored 
to  accomplish  his  object." 

*  In  the  year  1545.     Ep.  66. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  ADVANCE    OF    THE    GOSPEL.  337 

But,  affected  as  he  was  by  the  general  state  of  the  church,  a  good 
trust  in  God  strengthened  and  animated  him.  A  glance  at  the 
state  of  affairs  will  explain  his  feelings,  and  the  meaning  of  many 
of  his  remarks.  France  continued  the  war  against  Spain  with 
great  vigor.  In  the  year  1542  Francis  attacked  his  enemy  with 
five  armies,  but  with  no  result.  Philip  of  Hesse  allowed  him- 
self to  be  deceived  by  Granvella,  at  the  diet  of  Ratisbone,  by 
the  offer  of  the  command  of  the  Spanish  troops  to  be  sent  against 
France,  and  he  pledged  himself  to  undertake  nothing  against  the 
house  of  Austria.  Thus  the  emperor  obtained  time  to  humble 
the  duke  William  of  Julich,  Cleves,  and  Berg,  and  to  suppress  the 
reformation  in  his  states.  Maurice  of  Saxony  could  not  be  pre- 
vailed upon  to  join  the  league  of  Smalcalde,  but  he  readily  took 
part  in  the  war  against  the  Turks.  The  elector  of  Brandenburg, 
Joachim,  also  refused  to  join  it,  from  respect  to  the  emperor. 
But  the  dislike  of  these  two  princes  against  each  other  went  so 
far,  that  for  some  trifling  cause  they  were  on  the  point  of  com- 
mencing hostilities. 

Notwithstanding  all  hindrances,  the  evangelical  faith  was  ad- 
vancing with  giant  strides  in  every  direction.  Calvin  wrote  at 
this  time:  "We  have  found  what  a  serpent  Satan  is.  But 
though  a  hundred  monsters  spring  from  one,  and  though  a  thou- 
sand heads  be  in  the  place  of  one,  still  we  know  ourselves  to  be 
invincible,  if  we  do  but  war  under  the  standard  of  our  Christ, 
and  fight  with  his  weapons."  To  Oswald  Myconius,  preacher 
at  Basel,  he  writes  :  "  As  far  as  I  can  learn  from  your  letters,  the 
affairs  of  Germany  are  not  improved  the  value  of  a  hair  since  the 
termination  of  the  diet  of  Ratisbone.  The  commencement 
there  promised  well.  Here,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  those  furies,  who 
desire  nothing  so  much  as  confusion,  have  undertaken  all  the 
parts  of  the  play.  I  can  easily  deduce  from  what  is  related  how 
it  has  gone  with  the  margrave  of  Brandenburg.  As  he  strives 
more  after  fame  than  is  right,  they  have  intoxicated  him  by  offer- 
ing him  the  conduct  of  the  war.  There  is  one  thing  however 
which  always  comforts  me  in  the  most  distressing  moments:  it 
is,  that  the  kingdom  of  the  wicked  cannot  long  stand  so  unre- 
strained in  one  place.  The  Lord  will  at  length,  as  you  say,  take 
its  affairs  in  hand.  Both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  every  day, 
there  is  more  than  enough,  not  merely  to  weaken,  but  quite  to 
exhaust  us,  did  we  not  know  that  it  is  God's  work  which  employs 
us.  Let  this  thought  therefore  be  sufficient  for  us,  even  in  our 
greatest  sufferings,  that  Christ  has  already  overcome  the  world, 

vol.  i.— 22 


338  CONTEST    WITH    THE    BERNESE.  [dlAP.  II. 

that  we  may  continually  reap  this  fruit.     Munster's*  arrival  has 
been  very  comforting  to  me." 

As  a  proof  of  Calvin's  frequent  call  to  take  part  in  politics,  and 
of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  though  a  stranger,  and  of  his 
great  moderation  in  the  excited  state  of  the  republic,  the  following 
circumstances  may  be  mentioned. 

The  Bernese,  who  were  ever  ready  to  tyrannize  over  Geneva, 
had  seized  upon  several  villages  belonging  to  it,  and,  as  they 
would  not  restore  them,  Basel  was  called  in  to  decide  the  dis- 
pute. The  arbitrator  readily  pronounced  that  several  of  the 
places  should  be  restored  to  Geneva.  But  the  decision  dis- 
pleased both  parties.  Geneva  was  angry ;  Calvin  was  called 
into  the  council,  and  gave  his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  partial 
restoration.  Bern  continued  the  dispute  for  two  years.  "lam 
greatly  distressed  at  this,"  says  Calvin  ;  "  I  believed  the  quarrel 
with  Bern  at  an  end,  but  it  again  breaks  forth.  The  two  hun- 
dred had  already  decided  that  we  must  yield  to  Bern,  as  our 
Amadeus  (Perrin)  said.  He  however  retracted  his  opinion,  and 
described,  in  lofty  words,  how  injurious  this  cession  would  be. 
Some  followed.  It  went  so  far  that  the  sixty  were  called  after 
the  two  hundred.  When  the  matter  was  laid  before  the  latter, 
behold  !  Pagnetus  urged  them  forward,  as  the  only  Atlas  of  the 
republic,  with  such  abusive  language  that  they  consented  to 
rob  the  republic  of  its  greatest  rights.  He  was  carried  so  far  by 
the  heat  of  the  argument,  that  he  threatened  the  senate  with  the 
wood-market,  where  traitors  are  usually  beheaded.  A  great  up- 
.roar  followed  this.  At  length  the  matter  was  decided  in  favor 
of  his  opinion  ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  kneel  down  and  ask 
pardon  of  the  assembly.  All  this  proceeded  from  the  workshop 
of  Macrin,  who  had  determined  to  keep  the  two  cities  in  con- 
tinual feud."f  In  September,  1543,  when  the  subject  was  again 
brought  forward,  Calvin  says  :£  i:  I  was  summoned  to  the  coun 
cil;  and  partly  because  I  held  it  useful  for  the  republic,  and 
partly  because  the  opposition  seemed  to  me  altogether  unpro 
ductive  of  any  good,  my  advice  was  not  simply  to  adopt  the 
decision  of  the  Basel  arbitrators.  For  the  rest,  I  hope  the  an- 
swer will  be  such  that,  if  it  do  not  give  satisfaction  in  every 
point,  it  will  at  all  events  exhibit  a  becoming  moderation.  If 
you   pay  us  a  visit  you   will   understand   the  affair  still   better. 

*  Sebastian  Minister,  at  first  professor  at  Heidelberg,  then  at  Bnsel,  where   he 
died  in  1552. 

f  MSS.  Gen.  to  Viret.  t  MSS.  Gen.  to  Viret. 


a.d.  1541-49.]  farel's  labors.  339 

While  I  was  writing  to  you,  the  news  arrived  from  Bern  that 
everything  was  settled.  I  learnt  however,  from  a  long  and  angry 
debate  in  the  council,  that  a  new  discussion  was  commenced.  It 
was  resolved  that  seven  of  the  members,  together  with  myself, 
should  consider  the  terms  of  the  arrangement.  If  Satan  do  not 
again  find  his  way  among  us.  I  have  good  hope.  I  believe  that 
I  have  done  much  towards  bringing  them  back  to  the  wish  for 
peace  :  they  are  sufficiently  decided  to  be  inclined  to  yield." 

This  affair  was  finally  settled  in  the  year  1544.  The  alliance 
with  Bern  and  the  proposals  made  by  Basel  were  confirmed. 

Calvin  was  so  much  in  request  during  the  whole  of  this  trans- 
action, that  he  writes  thus :  "  I  have  not  time  enough  to  look 
out  of  my  house  at  the  blessed  sun,  and  if  things  continue  thus 
I  shall  forget  what  sort  of  an  appearance  it  has.  When  I  have 
settled  my  usual  business,  I  have  so  many  letters  to  write,  so 
many  questions  to  answer,  that  many  a  night  is  spent  without 
any  offering  of  sleep  being  brought  to  nature."  He  felt  himself, 
however,  tranquil  and  cheerful  when  his  work  was  completed, 
and  says,  "  I  compare  myself  to  a  warrior  who  has  slain  many 
enemies,  when  I  have  got  over  many  heavy  labors."  He  then 
assures  his  friends  that  he  could  refuse  no  man  his  aid.  whatever 
time  and  trouble  it  might  cost  him.* 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Farel  had  no  rest.  His  element 
was  to  reform,  to  hazard  everything  for  God  and  his  holy  Gospel. 
As  soon  as  he  had  put  the  Neuenburg  church  in  some  degree  of 
order,  he  meditated  new  victories.  His  attention  had  long  been 
turned  towards  Metz,  which  seemed  ready  to  receive  the  truth, 
but  where  the  clergy  and  the  nobility  were  still  in  a  state  of 
strife.  In  the  year  1542,  however,  circumstances  wore  a  more 
favorable  aspect.  The  protestants  there  invited  Farel  to  come 
among  them,  and  what  had  discouraged  others  he  readily  under- 
took with  the  bold  spirit  of  a  missionary.  Some  of  his  friends 
disapproved  of  the  step  ;  but  Calvin,  without  whose  advice  Farel 
would  do  nothing,  encouraged  him  in  his  resolution. 

"May  the  Lord,"  he  said,  "preserve  you  for  his  church,  safe 
and  well,  wherever  you  may  be.  If  you  go  to  Metz,  as  we  hope 
you  will,  may  he  open  this  door  for  his  Gospel,  and  fill  you  with 
the  spirit  of  his  wisdom,  foresight,  moderation,  zeal,  and  power, 
that  you  may  be  armed  on  all  sides  for  this  difficult  and  arduous 
undertaking.     T  see  indeed   how  many  and  various,  and  what 

*  From  Tiseher's  Life  of  Calvin ;  but  the  source  of  the  information  is  not  men- 
tioned. 


340  FAREL    AT    METZ.  [CHAP.  II. 

perilous  struggles  await  you,  and  what  especial  help  you  need 
from  God.  But  you  are  neither  so  unprepared  nor  inexperienced 
as  to  be  alarmed  at  dangers,  however  great  they  seem  ;  and  the 
power  of  Christ,  which  has  always  wonderfully  supported  you,  is 
ever  the  same.  We  shall  look  with  continual  anxiety  to  see  what 
progress  he  may  give  you.  You  know  well  enough  that  in  the 
present  day  the  false  idea  prevails,  that  both  things  and  resolves 
are  to  be  judged  of  according  to  their  consequences." 

Farel  commenced  his  work  on  the  third  of  September,  1542. 
It  was  determined  that  he  should  preach  the  following  Sunday. 
The  church-yard  of  the  Dominicans  was  chosen  for  the  purpose, 
because  a  pulpit  had  been  raised  there.  The  number  of  hearers 
was  very  great.  During  the  sermon  two  Dominicans  appeared, 
and  commanded  the  preacher  to  be  silent.  Farel  took  no  heed 
of  this  command.  They  then  began  to  ring  all  their  bells;  but 
Farel  raised  his  powerful  voice  so  loud,  that  it  was  heard  above 
them.  The  Dominicans  now  ordered  the  pulpit  which  he  had 
desecrated  to  be  torn  down.  An  open  disputation  took  place  be- 
tween Farel  and  a  Franciscan  monk.  Farel  defended  the  spirit- 
ual participation  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  the  next  day  three 
thousand  persons  assembled  to  hear  him.  He  was  summoned 
before  the  magistrates,  and  asked,  by  whose  command  and  desire 
he  preached.  He  answered  that  Christ  commanded,  and  his  mem- 
bers desired  it.  The  protestants  set  some  one  who  resembled  him 
on  a  horse,  and  accompanied  him  out  of  the  city  ;  but  the  mis- 
sionary remained  concealed  in  Metz. 

A  proposal  had  been  made  to  admit  the  city  into  the  league  of 
Smalcalde  ;  but  even  Luther  considered  this  hazardous.  The 
duke  of  Lorraine,  to  whom  Farel  addressed  an  excellent  letter, 
remained  an  irreconcilable  enemy.  The  papists  of  the  city  wrote 
to  the  emperor,  who  decided,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Metz 
should  continue  catholics  till  the  general  council.  Fare!  preached 
for  a  time  in  the  neighborhood  of  Metz,  at  Gorze.  Hut  here 
the  people  were  surprised  and  beaten  down  by  the  duke  of 
Guise,  just  after  they  had  solemnized  the  Lord's  Supper.  Farel 
escaped  to  Strasburg.  The  reformed  were  banished,  and  most 
of  them  followed  their  preacher.  In  the  end,  the  count  von 
Furstenberg  obtained  a  chapel  for  them  in  the  parish  of  St.  Nicho- 
las at  Metz,  and  the  free  observance  of  their  religion.  But  they 
enjoyed  this  liberty  only  a  short  time:  the  preacher  was  ex- 
pelled by  an  order  of  Charles  V.  Myconius  afterwards  related  this 
*i   i  'alvin. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CALVIN    AND    CAHOLI.  341 

Caroli,  the  enemy  and  accuser  of  these  admirable  men,  ap- 
peared at.  that  time  at  Metz,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the 
effects  of  Farel's  labors.  Protected  by  the  council,  and  full  of 
pride,  he  sent  a  noisy,  pompous  challenge  to  Farel  for  life  and 
death.  Calvin  now  proceeded  like  a  lion,  slowly  leaving  his  lair, 
to  attack  the  old  enemy.  He  went  to  Strasburg,  and  his  appear- 
ance at  Metz  would  probably  have  ended  the  affair;  but  the  busi- 
ness did  not  proceed.  The  courage  of  the  catholic  party  was  too 
much  on  the  increase,  and  the  German  states  assembled  at  Smal- 
calde,  whither  the  bishop  of  Huy  had  gone  with  some  deputies, 
did  not  think  it  wise  for  the  present  to  declare  themselves  for 
Metz.  Three  letters  exist  which  Calvin  wrote  from  Strasburg, 
where  he  was  obliged  to  remain  with  Farel,  for  want  of  a  safe- 
conduct,  respecting  this  matter  to  the  council. 

The  state-protocol  of  the  7th  of  July,  1543,  records  that  news 
had  been  received  from  Calvin.  He  travelled  to  Strasburg 
through  Bern.  Viret  accompanied  him  so  far.  In  fourteen  days 
he  was  to  be  at  Metz  on  his  way  back.  He  sent  Farel's  second 
letter  to  Caroli.  The  council  ordered  it  to  be  printed.  From  an- 
other statement  we  learn  that  the  archbishop  of  Cologne  was  very 
much  in  favor  of  the  Gospel,  that  the  Turks  were  ready  to  invade 
Germany  at  three  different  points,  and  that  the  emperor,  now  en- 
gaged in  defending  the  Netherlands  against  the  king  of  France, 
was  in  great  perplexity. 

"My  arrival  happens  at  the  worst  possible  time/' wrote  Cal- 
vin to  the  preachers  ;  "  for  the  catholics  in  Metz  are  made  aston- 
ishingly proud  by  the  emperor's  near  neighborhood  to  them, 
and  they  allege  his  authority  as  a  reason  for  their  not  daring  to 
yield  anything  to  us.  They  think,  that  while  he  is  so  near,  it  is 
not  proper  that  they  should  take  the  state  affairs  into  consid- 
eration without  asking  his  permission.  As  it  would  be  both 
dangerous  and  useless  to  travel  to  Metz  under  these  circum- 
stances, the  council  has  resolved  to  send  some  one  to  Smalcalde, 
to  desire  that  an  embassy  may  be  despatched  with  us  to  Metz 
in  the  name  of  the  whole  body,  and  so  force  from  its  authorities 
what  they  will  not  willingly  accord  us.  The  journey  to  Smal- 
calde usually  occupies  eight  days,  but  may  be  accomplished  by  a 
messenger  in  six.  We  have  resolved  to  await  the  answer  here, 
to  save  ourselves  from  having  undertaken  so  important  a  task  in 
vain.  It  will  be  no  slight  advantage  for  us  to  have  the  depu- 
ties as  our  companions,  that  that  hound  (Caroli)  may  be  com- 
pelled to  hold   the  disputation,  from  which   he  not  only  shrinks, 


342  FAREL    AT    GENEVA.  [CHAP.  II. 

but  absolutely  despises  it.  Protected  now  by  the  presence  of  the 
emperor,  and  lurking  behind  the  ambush  thus  afforded  him,  he 
rages  more  fiercely  than  ever.  But  the  Lord  will  soon,  we  hope, 
suppress  this  godless  fury.  I  beseech  you  to  be  watchful  and 
careful  during  my  absence  in  fulfilling  your  duties.  There  are 
many  reasons  to  impress  upon  you  the  necessity  of  not  allow- 
ing any  scandal  or  change  in  the  church  to  occur  while  I  am 
away.  If  you  do  your  duty  with  a  right  mind,  with  earnestness 
and  proper  zeal,  the  Lord  will  give  a  successful  result.  In  the 
mean  while  commend  us  in  your  prayers  to  God,  and  this  his 
work,  about  which  we  are  now  employed  :  it  is  not  wanting  in 
difficulties  and  dangers,  and  prayer  is  the  help  which  we  need 
from  man.  Farel  greets  you  most  kindly.  I  not  only  enjoy  my 
usual  health,  but  have  improved  it;  so  that  lam  even  better 
than  ordinarily.  Farewell,  dearest  brother,  and  be  careful  for  the 
edifying  of  the  church."* 

Calvin,  after  six  weeks,  returned  to  Geneva  at  the  request  of 
the  council.  Farel  was  seen  there,  after  his  persecution  at  Metz, 
in  somewhat  ragged  attire.  The  council,  which  had  already 
gladdened  him  with  a  present,  thought  it  proper,  on  account  of 
the  hard  persecution  which  he  had  suffered,  to  give  him  a  new 
suit,  such  a  one  as  had  been  presented  to  Calvin.t  About  this 
time  Calvin  began  to  interest  himself  in  the  Mompelgarten 
church.  The  district  in  which  it  was  established  belonged  to 
duke  George  of  Wurtemberg.  This  prince  had  joined  the  re- 
formed church,  often  visited  Zurich,  and  conversed  with  Bullin- 
ger.  Peter  Tossanus  taught  in  France.  fficolampadius  and  Fa- 
rel had  frequently  pressed  him  to  leave  France  and  assist  Farel, 
but  in  vain,  till  at  length  the  papists  drove  him  out  of  the  coun- 
try. He  then  went  to  Zurich.  Farel  besought  Zvvingli  to  send 
Tossanus  to  Orbe,  but  duke  George  needed  his  help  in  reform- 
ing his  church.  Some  changes  were  to  be  effected,  and  the 
Mompelgarteners  wished  to  confer  with  Farel :  he  invited  them 
to  Geneva,  and  Calvin  in  writing  to  him  answered  some  weighty 
questions. 

"With  regard  to  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  it  is  a 
irood  custom  to  administer  it  to  the  sick,  if  time  and  circum- 
stances  be  favorable.     There  is  also  not  much  to  object  to  the 

*  MSS.  Gen.  CM.  Jul,  1543.  , 

|  Fare]  was  invited  to  remain  at  Geneva,  but  he  said  that  lie  was  not  able  to  do 
so  then.  He  also  refused  at  first  to  accept  this  prewnt  CMvin  however  prwsed 
liim  to  receive  it.  "  Vends  apud  me  eat,  donee  raperiatur  qui  ferat.  Bene  factum 
quod  recuaaati,  sed  nunc  hones  tc  accipere  poteris. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  FRENCH    PROTESTANTS.  343 

practice  of  giving  it  to  condemned  criminals,  if  they  desire  it. 
and  seem  properly  prepared  ;  but  this  is  with  the  condition  that 
there  be  really  a  communion,  namely  that  the  bread  is  broken 
in  an  assembly  of  believers.  To  administer  the  sacrament  in  a 
common  assembly,  without  order,  when  only  one  person  desires 
it,  were  too  great  a  folly.  To  obey  in  this  the  direction  of  a 
prince,  would  be  to  sacrifice  all  church  regulations  to  the  caprice 
of  an  individual.  To  permit  midwives  to  baptize  is  a  horrible 
desecration  of  the  sacrament:  this  therefore  must  not  only  be 
rejected,  but  if  the  prince  should  proceed  to  enforce  it  by  author- 
ity, you  must  resist  even  unto  blood  rather  than  suffer  such  a 
superstition.  With  regard  to  burials,  I  should  be  glad  to  see  the 
following  alteration, — namely,  that  they  may  take  place  in  the 
church-yard,  rathftr  than  in  the  church  itself.  I  should  wish 
an  address  to  be  made  there.  You  need  not  protest  any  fur- 
ther against  the  use  of  bells,  if  the  prince  will  not  assent  to  your 
wishes.  Not  that  I  think  it  good,  but  because  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  dispute  on  the  subject." 

In  the  midst  of  these  events,  the  interesting  intelligence  ar- 
rived that  a  new  champion  for  the  things  of  God  had  appeared. 
"There  is  a  man  just  come  out  of  Italy,"  says  Bucer,  "who  is 
very  learned  in  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew,  and  who  is  admirably 
skilled  in  the  holy  Scriptures.  He  is  forty-four  years  old,  of  a 
serious  disposition,  and  endowed  with  an  acute  judgment.  Hi* 
name  is  Peter  Martyr,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  chapter  in 
the  cathedral  of  Lucca." 

This  is  the  man  whom  we  shall  hereafter  see  publishing  the 
Gospel,  first  at  Oxford  and  next  at  Zurich,  and  then  again  with 
Beza  at  the  conference  at  Poissy.  He  was  a  genuine  friend  of 
Calvin,  who  regarded  him  with  the  highest  esteem  and  love,  and 
called  him  the  wonder  of  Italy. 

Vast  numbers  of  fugitives  from  France  and  Italy  were  already 
flocking  to  Geneva :  Calvin  rendered  them  both  spiritual  conso- 
lation and  outward  help.  But  the  first  season  of  his  labors 
was  greatly  disturbed  by  the  general  pestilence  :  plague  and 
famine  existed  in  every  part  of  the  land.  A  body  of  Swiss  troops 
in  passing  through  the  city  had  spread  the  infection  there.  The 
custom  was  already  established  of  sending  the  sick  into  a  sepa- 
rate'building  in  the  suburbs.  It  was  now  necessary  to  seek  the 
help  of  some  persevering  minister;  but  most  of  the  preachers 
were  terrified  at  the  idea  of  the  pestilence;  three,  however,  en- 
dowed  with  a  noble   courage,  offered   their  services  ;  they  were, 


344  PESTILENCE    AT    GENEVA.  [CHAP.  II. 

Castellio.  Blanchet  and  Calvin.  When  lots  were  cast  to  deter- 
mine who  was  to  commence,  the  lot  fell  upon  Castellio,  but  he 
immediately  changed  his  mind.  Calvin  insisted  upon  again  cast- 
ing lots,  but  the  council  and  Blanchet  himself  would  not  permit 
it.  The  latter  undertook  the  perilous  duty  :  he  died  at  the  end 
of  ten  months.  The  pestilence  broke  out  several  times  in  the 
years  43-45,  and  the  reason  of  this,  as  we  shall  see,  was  subse- 
quently discovered. 

The  following  notices  from  the  state-protocol  show  how  mise- 
rable was  (he  spirit  of  Calvin's  colleagues  at  this  time,  how  little 
help  he  could  expect  from  them,  and  how  he  stood  alone  be- 
neath the  cloud.  He  complained  before  the  council  that  some 
of  the  preachers  avoided  going  to  the  hospital,  and  had  declared 
that  they  would  rather  go  to  the  devil.  Upon  this  the  council 
admonished  the  ministers.  But  the  pestilence  continued  to  pre- 
vail, and  in  order  to  strengthen  the  minds  of  the  sufferers,  and 
direct  them  above,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  solemnly  celebrated. 
In  the  year  1543  the  plague  raged  so  fiercely  that  it  was  found 
necessary  to  close  the  courts  of  law.  As  Blanchet  was  dead,  the 
preachers  were  called  upon  to  elect  another  to  supply  his  place 
The  high  estimation  in  which  Calvin  was  held  by  the  council 
was  strikingly  shown  on  this  occasion.  It  was  especially  ordered 
that  the  ministers  should  not  allow  him  to  draw  lots  with  them. 
He  was  necessary  to  the  church.  But  his  brethren  seemed  to 
have  been  altogether  wanting  in  spiritual  courage.  When  called 
with  Calvin,  who  would  not  separate  from  (hem.  before  the  coun- 
cil, (o  make  choice  of  a  pastor  for  the  hospital,  they  openly  de- 
clared that,  "  to  undertake  such  an  office,  a  man  needed  great 
resolution  and  must  fear  nothing  ;  that  they  had  not  this  firm- 
ness, and  that  therefore  they  deemed  it  best  to  choose  a  stranger." 
They  were  again  summoned  before  the  council,  but  with  an  ex- 
press direction  to  exclude  Calvin.  "Again  however  they  declared 
thai,  I  hough  it  might  be  their  duty  to  minister  in  the  pest-house, 
they  had  not  the  courage  to  do  so."  The  preacher  Geneston  was 
the  only  one  ready  to  go,  should  the  lot  fall  to  him.  But  this  true 
servant  of  (he  Lord  soon  died  of  the  pestilence,  with  his  wife, 
and  most  of  those  who  served  in  the  hospital.  Such  was  the 
change  produced  in  the  city  when  Calvin's  fervent  spirit  had  had 
time  thoroughly  to  pervade  it;  such  was  then  the  increase  in  its 
moral  force,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  bridle  the  apostolic 
zeal  and  devotion  of  the  clergy. 

The  following  words  addressed   by  Calvin  to  Viret,  about  this 


a.d.  1541-49.]    calvin's  influence  in  geneva.  345 

time  show  how  his  naturally  timid  mind  struggled  with  a  sense 
of  duty,  which  always  conquered. 

"  The  plague  has  begun  to  rage  horribly  :  few  of  the  persons 
attacked  recover.  It  was  necessary  for  the  consistory  to  appoint 
some  one  to  comfort  the  sufferers.  If  anything  happens  to  Blan- 
chet,  I  fear  that  I  must  venture  upon  doing  something  after  him; 
for,  as  you  say,  we  are  debtors  to  all  the  members  of  Christ's 
body,  and  we  must  not  withdraw  from  those  who  most  need  our 
help.  It  is  not  my  opinion  however  that,  in  order  to  help  a  part, 
Ave  should  let  the  whole  church  fall  into  disgrace.  But  so  long 
as  the  Lord  deems  us  worthy  of  this  office,  I  cannot  see  what 
excuse  we  have,  if,  from  fear  of  danger,  we  forsake  those  who 
most  require  consolation." 

We  may  here,  by  way  of  comparison,  mention  how  Luther 
confessed  his  fear  of  death  at  the  time  of  the  pestilence  in  Wit- 
tenberg; but  in  reference  only  to  leaving  the  city,  for  he  had  not 
been  chosen  to  the  office  of  ministering  to  the  infected.  lie  lived 
to  witness  three  of  these  visitations  of  God's  avenging  angel. 
In  the  year  1516  he  thus  wrote  to  Lange  :*— 

"  What  shall  I  sa}r  ?  It  is  come,  and  it  advances  horribly  and 
rapidly,  especially  against  young  people.  And  you  advise  me 
and  Bartholomew  to  flee  !  But  whither?  I  trust  the  world 
would  not  sink,  even  if  brother  Martin  us  did  die.  If  the  plague 
continues,  I  shall  send  the  brethren  round  about  into  the  world, 
but  as  for  myself  I  am  fixed  here.  Duty  forbids  me  to  flee,  and 
I  cannot  do  so  till  that  which  now  commands  me  reverses  the 
command.  Not  that  I  am  free  from  the  fear  of  death,  for  I  am 
no  Apostle  Paul,  but  only  a  student  of  Paul.  I  hope  however 
that  the  Lord  will  at  length  set  me  free,  even  from  my  fear." 

The  care  which  the  council  manifested  for  the  life  of  Calvin, 
gives  us  occasion  to  speak  of  the  position  which  he  occupied  at 
the  commencement  of  this  period,  and  to  correct  some  erroneous 
impressions  as  to  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
republic. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  the  once-persecuted  and  de- 
spised Calvin,  who  dare  not  undertake  his  work  without  the 
assistance  of  Farel  and  Viret,  now  suddenly  rose  to  so  high  a 
position,  that  his  advice  was  sought,  as  we  have  seen,  in  matters 
purely  political,  and  that  his  life  was  regarded  as  loo  precious 
to  be  exposed  to  the  danger  of  the  pestilence.  Much  has  been 
said  on   the  esteem  entertained  for  Calvin  in  Geneva  ;  much  on 

*  T.  xxi.  p.  501.     Walehsche  Ausgoe. 


346  calvin's  influence  in  geneva.  [chap.  ii. 

his  art  of  governing- men  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  determine  what 
may  be  rightly  said. 

After  having  carefully  considered  all  that  may  be  depended 
upon,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  influence  was  sub- 
ject to  various  changes.  He  was  never,  as  many  persons  now 
imagine,  all-powerful  in  the  city.  The  forms  of  the  republic,  and 
the  presbyterian  form  of  the  church,  are  incompatible  with  the 
despotism  ascribed  to  him.  His  influence  was  more  indirect,  and 
it  changed  according  to  the  men  who  stood  with  him  at  the  helm 
of  the  state,  or  the  character  of  his  successful  opponents.  Calvin 
never  acted  from  the  love  of  power  in  state  affairs.  It  may  be 
safely  said,  that  he  was  always  viewed  by  the  old  Gcnevese  with 
jealousy,  and  as  a  stranger. 

Many  instances  may  be  adduced  to  prove  that  his  influence 
and  authority  were  sometimes  almost  wholly  lost.  Thus  he 
writes  to  Bullinger  during  the  trial  of  Servetus  : — "Tvheir  folly 
and  rage  have  increased  to  such  a  degree,  that  all  which  we  state 
is  received  with  distrust.  Were  we  to  say  it  is  light  at  noon- 
time, they  would  immediately  begin  to  doubt  it."  In  the  year 
155(3,  when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  power,  he  wrote  : — "I 
know  well  what  the  wicked  babble  about  me  ;  but  I  have  with- 
drawn myself  from  (he  government,  and  no  longer  exercise  anv 
influence  in  it,  though  they  say  that  I  arrogate  all  power  to  my- 
self. I  am  therefore  living  like  a  stranger  in  this  city.  The 
senate,  never  summons  me,  as  if  it  needed  not  my  advice  even  in 
the  greatest  necessity.  It  may  be  either  because  it  deema  it  not 
proper,  or  because  it  is  not  willing  to  receive  the  help  of  a  stranger, 
or  because  it  finds  that  1  avoid  such  occupation." 

Calvin,  (in  whom  the  office  of  censor  had  been  conferred  at  an 
earlier  period  (as  we  learn  from  the  state-protocol  of  September 
29,  1542),  was  himself  subsequently  exposed  to  the  censorship,  an 
humiliation  which  was  hard  for  him  to  bear. 

In  a  letter  written  in  the  year  1551.  he  says,  "I  was  within  a 
little  of  offering  my  writing  to  Vulcan  ;  for  when  I  presented  it 
to  the  council,  it  was  resolved  to  refer  it  to  the  censors.  I  felt  so 
indignant,  that  I  declared  to  the  four  syndics,  that  if  1  lived  a 
thousand  years  I  would  never  publish  anything  in  this  city." 

On  the  other  hand,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  of  the  high 
esteem  cherished  for  him  by  the  council  and  people  of  Geneva. 
Tiny  proved  to  him  by  numerous  little  attentions,  presents  and 
the  like,  that  they  were  well  aware  of  his  worth.  Thus  they 
furnished  him  with  a  courier  on  his  journeys,  and  when  he  was 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  influence  in  geneva.  347 

sick,  in  1545,  a  secretary  was  provided  him  at  the  public  cost 
This  respect  he  retained  to  the  end  of  his  life  ;  for  when  the 
duchess  of  Ferrara  desired  a  clergyman  to  be  sent  her  from 
Geneva,  the  free  choice  of  any  of  those  in  the  city  was  allowed 
her  with  the  exception  of  Calvin  and  Beza,  whom  the  state 
could  not  spare.  Indeed,  when  his  last  afflicting  malady  threat- 
ened to  prove  mortal,  every  one  in  the  state  was  required  to 
pray  for  his  restoration.  We  may  therefore  at  once  refute  the 
assertion  of  Calvin's  enemies,  which  imputes  to  him  worldly  am- 
bition and  the  love  of  power,  and  even  designates  him  the  pope 
of  Geneva.  If  he  exercised  a  ruling  influence  over  others,  by  the 
mere  force  of  his  own  character,  this  resulted  from  his  natural 
superiority,  not  from  his  love  of  power,  which  was  unknown  to 
his  humble  spirit.  Bretschneider  says  rightly,  in  his  review  of 
Calvin,  that  "men  of  powerful  character  and  superior  minds  must 
unavoidably  acquire  a  mastery  over  those  with  whom  they  are 
brought  in  contact." 

Calvin  ridiculed  the  absurdity  of  those  who  envied  his  author- 
ity, or  who  seemed  to  set  a  high  value  on  the  influence  which  he 
had  acquired  after  his  long  labors,  and  wished,  for  their  punish- 
ment, that  they  might  be  his  successors.  It  is  however  conclu- 
sive in  his  favor,  that  he  identified  himself  with  his  doctrine,  and 
that  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  express  himself  indignantly 
against  opponents,  because  he  knew  that  in  opposing  him  they 
desired  to  suppress  his  doctrine.  His  power  was  never  exercised 
despotically  in  the  consistory  :  this  is  evident  from  his  own  declar- 
ation. Thus  he  says  among  other  things  to  Viret,  that  in  the 
affair  which  concerned  a  certain  Sonnerius,  whom  Viret  had 
commended  to  him,  he  had  done  what  he  could,  but  had  not 
succeeded ;  that  he  had  endeavored  to  introduce  the  business 
skilfully,  and  had  often  interrupted  his  colleagues  to  soften  their 
judgment,  but  that  they  had  remained  immovable.  He  had  first 
stated  his  own  opinion,  which  did  not  reach  the  ears  of  the 
moderator.  Only  two,  he  adds,  of  his  colleagues  were  on  his 
side,  while  ten  were  against  him.  "Although,"  he  says,  "I  em- 
ployed every  kind  of  opposition,  they  compelled  me  to  subscribe 
to  the  class,  but  with  the  praise  of  the  man."  After  some  further 
allusions  he  concludes  with  these  words, — "  How  could  I  deprive 
my  brethren  of  their  right  and  freedom?" 

In  a  letter  to  Clauburg  he  thus  expresses  himself:  "How 
groundless  the  slander  is  that  I  am  a  tyrannical  ruler,  I  leave 
my  colleagues  to  judge,  for  they  certainly  have  never  complained 


348  calvin's  theocratic  ideas.  [chap.  hi. 

that  they  feel  themselves  oppressed  by  tny  power:  on  the  con- 
trary, they  frequently  object  to  me  that  I  am  too  shy,  and  do  not 
act  freely  enough  when  there  is  need  of  the  exercise  of  my  author- 
ity, which  all  regard  as  beneficial.  If  people  could  only  see 
under  what  hard  conditions  I  am  obliged  to  perforin  my  duties, 
and  how  unable  I  am  ever  to  arrogate  anything  to  myself,  they 
would  certainly  be  ashamed  of  their  light  and  groundless  speeches. 
But  if  by  the  utmost  caution  I  cannot  escape  the  attacks  of  the 
wicked,  not  only  will  the  testimony  of  my  conscience  be  sufficient., 
but  the  well-known  fact,  the  experience  of  the  public,  will  utterly 
refute  all  that  the  noisy  spirit  of  slander  has  so  busily  spread 
abroad." 

After  having  given  this  general  view  of  the  position  of  the  re- 
former in  the  little  republic,  we  must  here  break  the  thread  of  the 
historical  narrative,  to  exhibit  his  influence  and  labors  under  a 
clearer  light,  and  take  a  closer  view  of  his  principles  as  a  re- 
former, of  his  legislation  and  church  polity,  as  well  as  of  his  prac- 
tical views.  The  spirit  which  animated  his  labors  can  only  be 
properly  described  as  the  spirit  of  theocracy  in  the  highest  sense 
of  the  term. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CALVIN    A    THEOCRAT. 


Combined  with  the  life,  and  with  the  progressive  development, 
of  Christianity  in  man,  is  the  inward  necessity,  urging  the  church, 
according  to  the  idea  that  God,  the  Lord,  is  the  sole  ruler  of 
the  universe,  to  convert  the  world  into  the  form  of  a  Christian 
theocracy.  His  kingdom  begins  through  the  church,  and  shall 
be  extended,  spiritually,  by  its  means.  All  the  heathen  states 
were  theocratic.  This  idea  of  a  theocracy,  in  its  highest  char- 
acter, existed  in  Moses,  whose  state  was  a  symbolical  representa- 
tion of  the  world, — the  kingdom  of  God.  It  existed  also  in  each 
of  the  judges;  and  at  a  later  period,  and  more  spiritually,  in  the 
schools  of  the  prophets,  which  Samuel  founded  for  the  defence 
of  the  divine  government  against  the  invasions  of  worldly  might. 
The  Christian  church  developed  itself  with  the  state,  not  as 
in  anywise  subject  to  it,  but  working  spiritually  upon  it,  so  that 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CHURCH    AND    STATE.  349 

the  old  theocracy  lay  concealed  in  the  germ.  Soon  a  new  king- 
dom of  God,  great  and  wonderful,  unfolded  ilself  in  (he  eaiholic 
church,  but  in  an  unchristian  form  and  troubled  by  worldly 
passions.  Still,  the  worthiest  of  the  popes,  such  as  desired  the 
salvation  of  the  world,  kept  the  idea  of  a  divine  government 
constantly  in  view,  and  pursued  it  with  a  clear  knowledge  of  its 
consequences.  At  length  they  subjected  the  empire  to  the 
church,  till  they  were  subdued  in  their  turn  ;  because  they  lost 
sight  of  the  true  and  spiritual  notion  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  desired  to  govern  it  in  their  own  name,  and  as  worldly 
princes. 

Calvin  and  the  other  reformers  also  entertained  this  idea,  so 
profoundly  involved  in  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  An  ideal  the- 
ocracy swept  clearly  defined  before  them,  but  they  had  too  much 
to  do  with  reform  to  be  able  to  treat  it  practically.  Calvin  how- 
ever pursued  the  idea  with  peculiar  zeal,  and  his  influence  on 
the  Genevese  constitution  is  then  most  correctly  characterized 
when  it  is  described  as  theocratic.  By  his  religious  spirit,  by 
his  acting  in  the  name  of  God,  he  exercised  a  distinct  theocratic 
influence,  not  only  on  the  little  state  of  Geneva,  but  upon  the 
whole  church,  and  through  that  upon  the  whole  world.  In  a 
word,  he  desired  that  God  might  be  king,  that  the  temporal 
power  should  rule  only  in  his  name,  that  it  should  employ  the 
laws  and  exercise  its  influence  for  the  salvation  of  souls  ;  since 
it  is  only  in  the  idea  of  a  theocracy  that  the  union  of  church  and 
state  can  exist,  both,  according  to  this,  having  for  their  end  and 
aim  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  a  lost  world.  Often 
did  Calvin  stand  forth,  like  the  old  prophets,  to  oppose  the 
temporal  power;  and  with  him,  all  the  churches  animated  by 
his  spirit.  Inspired  by  this  divine  feeling,  we  see  him,  in  the 
year  155S,  before  the  council,  when  the  syndics  were  chosen.  He 
raised  his  voice,  and  admonished  them  with  grandeur  and  dignity 
to  proceed  humbly  and  in  the  name  of  God.  "Let  us  consider," 
he  said,  "to  what  danger  the  republic  has  been  exposed  of  late, 
through  the  unworthiness  of  the  governing  citizens  ;  and  let  us 
remember  the  insignificance  of  the  state,  that  our  souls  may  be 
preserved  from  pride." 

The  evangelical  church  is  now  manifesting  its  desire  to  real- 
ize that  grand  ideal,  which  the  middle  ages  sought  for,  but 
sought  for  in  vain,  because  the  time  was  not  yet  fulfilled.  Such 
ideas,  in  their  purest  form,  find  to-day  their  reflection  in  the 
soul.     There  is  a  visible  apprehension  of  the  excellency  of  that 


350  CHURCH  AND  STATE.  [CHAP.  III. 

theocratic  union  of  the  church  and  state,  which  are  related  to 
each  other,  in  their  foundation,  as  the  law  and  the  Gospel,  so 
that  they  can  never  properly  become  estranged.  The  church 
must  always  remain  the  mother  of  all  spiritual  principles ;  the 
state  must  continue  to  be  the  arm,  the  directing  power,  of  the 
law;  the  church,  the  guardian  of  the  spirit,  without  power,  with- 
out sword,  armed  only  with  prayer.  The  state  is  to  protect  her 
with  its  power;  the  church  is  to  govern  spiritually,  committing 
the  earthly  rule  altogether  and  without  reserve  to  the  civil  magis- 
trate, who  secures  to  her  in  return  the  free,  unrestricted  exer- 
cise of  her  spiritual  right  over  the  domains  of  religion.  All 
worldly  domination  in  the  church  is  Satanic,  but  no  outward 
power  can  hinder  her  spiritual  authority.  As  soon  as  the  church 
seeks  worldly  rule,  she  must  fall  back  into  bondage ;  but  it  is  her 
first  duty  to  diffuse  spiritual  life.  Lovingly  and  earnestly  desires 
she  the  sanctification  and  reformation  of  the  rude  force  of  the 
world.  She  must  therefore  strive  for  the  realization  of  another 
Ideal,  that  is,  the  Christian  edification  of  the  community  by 
means  of  instruction  and  admonition  ;  by  a  firmly  established 
system  of  church  discipline  which  numbers  among  its  first  essen- 
tials the  adoption  of  a  confession  of  faith,  a  catechism,  and  a 
liturgy  or  form  of  worship.  This  unity  and  constitution  must, 
be  approved  of  and  protected  by  the  state.  Both  must  labor  to 
put  down  the  unchristian  anarchy  which  springs  from  the  opposi- 
tion of  equal  powers  in  church  and  state. 

It  was  Calvin's  wish  to  solve,  this  difficult  problem;  and  the 
question  arises,  whether  we  can  content  ourselves  with  the  mode 
in  which  he  solved  it ;  or  whether,  after  the  experience  of  three 
hundred  years,  we  desire  a  new  solution.  Three  different  forms 
of  church  government  have  been  created  by  the  reformation, — 
the  episcopal  in  England,  the  consistorial  in  Germany,  and  the 
presbyterian  in  France  and  Scotland:  a  higher,  and  the  most 
perfect  of  all,  must  be  constructed  on  these  three ;  but  the  ele- 
ments of  this  better  system  are  already  existing,  in  principle,  in 
the  Calvinistic  form. 

As  the  reformer  combined,  according  to  his  theocratic  system, 
the  church  and  state  in  a  close  bond  of  union,  we  must  view  it  in 
relation  to  both  the  one  and  the  other.  It  i .;  very  unjustly  said 
in  one  of  the  latest  reviews  of  his  character  and  influence,  "  Tin: 
ecclesiastical  power  was  so  mixed  up  in  Geneva  with  the  civil. 
that  this  new  creation  left  Calvin  in  possession  of  absolute  au- 
thority."    Whereas  the   power  of  the  church   was  subjected,   in 


A.D.   1541-49.]  POLITICS    AND    RELIGION.  351 

the  most  distinct  manner,  to  the  temporal;  the  state  had  even 
the  right  to  settle  matters  of  doctrine,  and  to  appoint  the  clergy, 
when  approved,  to  their  stations  ;  so  that  Calvin's  authority  must 
always  have  arisen,  not  from  his  political  power,  but  from  his 
character.  His  legislative  influence,  as  we  shall  shortly  see, 
was  more  conspicuous  than  his  political.  It  is  therefore  said, 
with  equal  falsehood,  in  the  same  report  on  Gruet's  affair,  that 
"  the  pastor  ordered  sentence  of  death  to  be  passed."  This 
sentence  proceeded  from  the  existing  authorities,  and  would  have 
been  passed  without  Calvin's  intervention  ;  but  he  expressed  his 
horror  against  the  crime  of  the  culprit  with  his  usual  earnest- 
ness, and  may  thence  have  inspired  the  whole  of  the  little  state 
with  corresponding  energy.  Far  juster  therefore  is  the  follow- 
ing judgment  on  the  theocratic  constitution  of  Geneva : — "  As 
the  constitution  was  religious  as  well  as  political,  every  heresy 
disturbed  the  tranquillity  of  the  community;  and  it  was  neces- 
sary therefore  that  heretics  should  be  punished  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  city.  In  the  year  1536  every  one  was  deprived  of  the 
right  of  citizenship  who  did  not  hold  the  received  doctrine ;  and 
from  the  year  1541  the  consistory  had  the  right  of  compelling 
the  magistrate  and  the  people  to  remain  true  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  church,  as  well  as  to  the  laws  of  morality.  The  republic 
being  founded  on  this  religious  principle,  it  was  necessary  that  its 
punishments  should  be  so  also." 

This  theocratic  tendency  was  implanted  in  the  people.  Cir- 
cumstances, as  brought  about  by  the  earlier  spirit  of  catholic 
rule,  and  the  catholic  theocracy  itself,  were  now  to  give  way  to 
protestantism.  But  this  shows  plainly  how  unreasonable  it  is 
to  lay  the  blame  on  the  reformer  alone,  for  that  which  was 
grounded  on  the  development  of  the  state  itself,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  very  tendency  of  the  times,  its  germ  being  visible 
when  Calvin,  in  the  year  1536,  possessed  as  yet  not  a  particle  of 
authority. 

Under  these  peculiar  circumstances  politics  became  mingled 
with  religion,  and  religion  was  contemplated  from  a  political 
point  of  view.  Never  however  did  the  reformer  seek  to  obtain 
any  direct  political  influence :  his  spirit  was  too  exalted  for 
political  intrigue.  Like  all  great  men,  he  had  a  certain  dignity 
to  maintain,  and  he  desired  to  conquer  not  by  little  means,  but 
by  the  force  of  his  own  ideas.  This  is  evident  from  the  fact, 
that  while  all  other  strangers,  and  his  own  brother,  obtained  the 


352  POLITICS    AND    RELIGION.  [cHAP.  III. 

right  of  citizenship  through  his  exertions,  he  never  sought  it 
for  himself,  and  wailed  quietly  till  it  was  offered  him  at  a  later 
period  of  his  life.  The  ardent  interest  however  which  he  took 
in  political  affairs  necessarily  gave  him  some  influence,  and  it 
was  at  all  times  a  definite  object  with  him  to  bring  the  forms  of 
the  state  into  harmony  with  that  of  his  church  government. 
We  see  from  his  letters  with  what  a  lively  interest  he  contem- 
plated the  affairs  of  the  political  world.  His  acknowledged  acute 
perception  of  the  great  European  relations  procured  for  him  the 
confidence  of  the  state,  which,  surrounded  as  it  was  by  power- 
ful neighbors,  often  found  itself  in  difficulty.  The  state-pro- 
tocols record  that  the  council  frequently  summoned  him  to  its 
aid  in  weighty  affairs.  In  a  more  important  government  the 
influence  which  he  thus  exercised  would  have  become  renowned. 
If  we  consider  his  life  in  the  republic,  it  appears  to  have  been  a 
continual  conflict  with  the  rude  power  of  those  who  did  not 
understand  his  mission,  who  desired  to  overthrow  religion  and 
church  authority  at  any  price,  even  if  it  were  with  the  whole 
state,  and  who  therefore  regarded  with  hatred  the  French  exiles 
who  gathered  round  the  reformer.  But  Calvin  at  once  ceased 
to  hold  any  intercourse  with  even  the  best  among  the  last-men- 
tioned persons,  as  soon  as  they  forsook  the  doctrine  which  he 
viewed  as  saving  truth.  His  friendship  with  the  nobleman  of 
Burgundy,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  shows  plainly  that  Calvin 
pursued  only  the  grand  idea  of  belief.  He  had  rest  when  syn- 
dics were  chosen  from  the  theocratic  party  ;  conflict,  when  they 
were  elected  from  among  the  libertines.  We  cannot  help  dis- 
covering however  a  great  degree  of  sensibility,  a  fulness  of  south- 
ern passion,  in  his  behavior.  The  Genevese  council  more- 
over consisted  of  persons  of  a  hot,  wild  character.  Justice  was 
executed  with  a  stern  hand.  The  activity  of  the  consistory  con- 
verted it  often  into  a  species  of  inquisition,  but  one  purely 
Christian,  which,  with  the  best  will,  proposed  to  itself  the  best 
end,  and  which,  instead  of  being  animated  by  political  selfish- 
ness, was  spiritual,  moral,  and,  if  one  may  use  the  expression, 
emulous  of  saving  power.  And  though  we  are  ready  to  allow 
that,  under  certain  circumstances,  Calvin's  conduct  in  Geneva 
may  create  astonishment,  it  must  at  the  same  time  be  observed, 
that  the  whole  man,  with  his  grand  aims  and  duties,  and  as  exist- 
ing in  his  particular  age,  ought  to  be  considered.  It  is  evidently 
inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  a  true   historian,  to  view  so  great 


a. d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  zeal.  353 

a  phenomenon  as  Calvinism  only  in  the  narrow  limits  of  as  mall, 
insignificant  stale,  and  in  its  mere  relation  to  the  Genevese  ;  and 
not  in  its  sublime,  universal  and  historical  importance. 

The  key  to  Calvin's  life,  as  already  remarked,  is  the  Old  Tes- 
tament spirit,  which  so  wonderfully  blended  itself  with  that  of 
Christianity.  Like  Moses,  who,  regarding  the  interests  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  spared  not  the  life  of  man,  Calvin  has  this 
axiom,  "Those  who  despise  the  honor  of  God  must  be  pun- 
ished with  the  sword."  When  and  how  often  this  has  been 
done  is  not  the  main  question,  but  it  may  be  asked,  whether  in 
certain  times  and  circumstances  this  spirit  might  not  be  recog- 
nized in  Christianity  as  divine?  This  determines  the  whole  in- 
quiry respecting  the  moral  of  Calvin's  proceeding.  But  that  he 
felt  himself  impelled  by  God  to  act  as  he  did,  appears  from  all 
his  declarations  as  a  candid  and  conscientious  man  ;  and  they 
who  judge  him,  must  judge  the  old  prophets  as  well.  Calvin 
renewed,  as  it  were,  the  giving  of  the  law  from  Sinai,  and  that 
at  a  period  when  a  new  principle  of  life  was  about  to  unfold  itself 
in  the  human  race,  and  the  earth  felt  itself  moved  from  one  end 
to  the  other.  Who  stood  with  him  on  the  holy  mount  amid  the 
storms  of  that  age?  Who  heard  the  words  which  God  then 
spoke  to  him  ? 

Let  us  consider  what  Calvin  himself  said  to  those  who  wished 
to  restrain  his  zeal: — "The  Holy  Ghost  has  given  us  David  for 
an  example,  and  David  in  his  zeal  was  a  type  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Paul  insists  that  the  zeal  of  the  house  of  God  should  devour  us. 
Hence  Christ  did  not  say  to  the  disciples,  who  wished  to  bring 
down  fire  from  heaven,  that  the  law  of  severity  had  been  an- 
nulled :  he  was  only  angry  because  they  had  not  the  genuine 
zeal  of  the  prophets  ;  and  even  the  tender-hearted  disciple  John 
desires  that  we  should  shun  the  enemy  of  God.  Thus  the  spirit 
of  the  Old  Testament  is  revealed  in  the  New,  as  that  of  the  New 
in  the  Old."  Can  we  help  exclaiming  here,  "The  Lord  has  sent 
us  in  Calvin  the  fervent  Elias  of  the  Old  Covenant,  and  has  in- 
spired him  with  the  lofty  spirit  of  a  Paul !" 

From  the  idea  of  theocracy  necessarily  arises  that  of  a  legis- 
lation, which  answers  to  the  holiness  of  God,  to  the  notion  of  a 
church  representing  redeeming  love,  and  to  that  of  the  sancli- 
fication  of  souls,  which  responds  to  the  sanctifying  spirit.  We 
must  consequently  consider  the  theocratic  reformer  in  the  three- 
fold light  of  a  lawgiver,  a  founder  of  an  ecclesiastical  constitu- 
tion, and   a  practical   minister  of  religion,  or  pastor.     And  sincp 

vol.  l— 23 


CALVIN    AS    A    LEGISLATOR.  [CHAP.  IV. 

the  religious  constitution  unfolded  itself  in  the  civil  state,  it  will 
be  proper  also  to  view  Calvin,  in  the  first  instance,  in  his  rela- 
tion to  the  state ;  that  is,  as  a  legislator  in  the  existing  constitu- 
tion, without  which  we  shali  not  be  able  to  understand  the  new 
form  of  the  church. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CALVIN    AS    A    LEGISLATOR. 


The  civil  polity  of  Geneva  existed  before  Calvin's  arrival  there. 
He  exercised  an  influence  upon  it,  in  so  far  as  he  brought  its 
fundamental  principle  in,to  harmony  with  the  new  ecclesiastical 
constitution.  Calvin's  principle  was  that  of  an  aristocratic  oli- 
garchy:  it  was  this  which  he- chose  for  the  church.  He  wished 
the  state,  as  well  as  the  church,  to  be  governed  by  a  select  body 
of  substantial  men  ;  and,  these  being  once  appointed,  the  council 
as  well  as  the  consistory  was  to  choose  the  new  members,  m  the 
place  of  those  who  retired  yearly.  Moderate,  and  fond  of  peace, 
he  had  no  love  for  the  republican  form  of  government ;  no 
trace  exists  in  his  writings  of  the  notion  of  the  sovereignty  of 
the  people.  Where  however  constitutional  forms  existed,  there 
he  held  it  to  be  the  sacred  duty  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  unjust  pretensions  of  the 
rulers,  and  to  secure  for  the  poor  people,  as  he  expresses  him- 
self, the  enjoyment  of  peace ;  having  in  his  mind,  perhaps,  the 
parliament  of  France,  which  neglected  to  oppose  persecution.* 
On  the  legislation  of  Geneva,  however,  he  exercised  a  twofold, 
a  direct  and  an  indirect,  influence.  Immediately  after  his  re- 
turn he  established  the  code  of  morals,  and  as  this  new  creation 
entirely  altered  the  position  of  the  state,  the  whole  edifice  required 
to  be  refashioned.  Calvin's  knowledge  as  a  civilian  was  well  un- 
derstood, and  the  revision  of  the  laws  generally  was  committed 
to  him,  as  well  as  the  task  of  framing  a  code  of  morals.t 

By  his  strenuous  co-operation  a  collection  of  laws  and  ordi- 

*  Instit.  lib.  iv.  c.  xx. 

\  Reference  ia  made  to  this  iu  the  State  Protocol  of  October  4,  1541,  and  ia  others 
of  the  two  following  years. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LAWS    OP    GENEVA.  355 

nances  was  completed  in  the  year  1543,  and  in  the  same  year  a 
new  liturgy  was  given  to  the  church.  Picot,*  in  his  History  of 
Geneva,  says,  that  the  council  this  year  collected  all  the  laws 
and  edicts  of  the  state  into  one  body  ;  that  these  edicts  denned 
the  duties  of  the  several  magistrates,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  were  to  be  elected.  These  laws  agree,  for  the  most  part, 
with  those  of  1568,  which  remained  as  the  basis  of  the  legisla- 
ture till  the  last  century,  except  that  mention  was  still  made  of 
the  office  of  a  captain-general,  subsequently  abolished.  In  another 
historian!  we  read  that  "  Calvin  was  one  of  the  most  excellent 
of  those  who  labored  in  producing  the  legislative  system  of 
1543.  To  establish  it,  the  '  Franchises  et  la  sentence  de  Payerne^ 
were  employed,  and  some  edicts  published  at  various  periods. 
Certain  new  laws,  and  some  few  old  customs,  were  also  intro- 
duced. This  system  was  followed  in  civil  processes,  and  where 
it  was  not  sufficient  the  Roman  laws  decided.  It  remained  till 
1568,  when  it  was  revised.  By  this  system,  the  relations  of  the 
citizens  among  each  other,  and  the  whole  mechanism  of  the 
state,  were  determined,  as  well  as  the  relations  of  the  church." 
A  third  writer!  says : — "  In  the  first  part  of  the  undertaking, 
the  relations  of  the  citizens,  as  far  as  they  were  non-political, 
were  regulated  altogether  according  to  the  Roman  laws,  which 
gave  occasion  to  numerous  disputes."  Germain  Colladon,§  a 
civilian,  was  commissioned  thoroughly  to  revise  the  earlier 
system,  and  he  laid  the  result  of  his  labors  before  the  greater 
and  lesser  council,  which  confirmed  the  body  of  laws  thus  revised 
on  the  29th  of  January,  1568.  Colladon  proceeded  throughout 
in  the  footsteps  of  Calvin,  only  expressing  still  more  distinctly  his 
aristocratic  principle.  In  older  times  the  foundation  of  the  state 
had  been  democratic. 

From  the  following  historical  notices  we  may  form  a  clear  idea 
of  the  political  constitution  of  Geneva,  and  of  the  influence  exer 
cised  On  it  by  the  reformation. 

Before  the  war  of  freedom  with  the  house  of  Savoy,  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  citizens  (Conseil  General)  was  composed  of  all 
the  citizens  and  inhabitants  who  possessed  a  house  in  the  city. 
After  that  period  the  citizens  only,  having  attained  their  majority, 
were  admitted.      Iu  this  assembly  existed  the  whole  power  of 

*  T.  i.  p.  392.  f  Beranger,  t.  i.  p.  302. 

\  Thourel,  ii.  261. 

§  Senebier.  Hist.  Lit.  i.  p.  343.  Collation  was  born  at  Berry,  was  a  doctor  of 
laws,  and  received  the  citizenship  in  1555.     He  was  a  great  jurisconsult. 


356  LAWS    OF    GENEVA.  [CHAP.  IV. 

the  state :  everything  was  determined  by  its  decision  ;  no 
treaty  could  be  formed,  no  law  adopted  without  its  approba- 
tion. It  usually  met  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter,  summoned 
by  the  solemn  tolling  of  the  great  bell,  while  its  meetings  were 
announced  at  all  corners  of  the  city  by  criers  and  the  sound  of 
trumpets.  The  syndics,  who  were  the  judges  in  all  criminal 
causes,  and  before  whom  the  prince  himself  and  all  the  members 
of  the  council  took  the  oath,  "  that  they  would  defend  the  free- 
dom and  the  laws  of  the  land/'  had  no  authority  or  power  but 
as  ministers  of  the  general  council  of  citizens.  John  of  Savoy, 
during  his  tyrannical  rule,  had  forbidden  young  unmarried  men 
to  take  part  in  its  proceedings,  but  he  was  never  able  to  abridge 
the  rights  of  this  assembly.  It  was  here  that  the  democratic 
principle  of  the  state  declared  itself.  The  syndics  and  the 
finance  chamber  were  elected  by  it  yearly.  The  syndics  con- 
tinued one  year  in  office,  but  might  be  re-elected.  During  the 
war  of  freedom  it  was  determined  that  they  could  only  be  re- 
elected after  four  years,  and  this  regulation  continued  till  the 
last  revolution.  They  may  now  return  to  office  after  one  year. 
In  early  times  the  syndics  themselves  chose  their  own  council, 
consisting  of  sixteen  members.  After  the  war  of  freedom,  the 
members  of  the  syndic  going  out  of  office,  continued  in  the 
lesser  council,  and  with  the  four  new  syndics  and  (he  treasurer 
(at  first  chosen  for  life,  afterwards  for  five  years),  formed  this 
lesser  council,  consisting  of  twenty-five  members,  but  at  one 
time  of  thirty.  It  possessed  the  legislative,  judicial,  and  execu- 
tive power.  Thus  the  democratic  form  was  changed  into  the 
aristocratic.  In  the  year  1457  the  council  of  fifty  or  sixty  was 
already  called  into  being,  in  order  to  avoid  the  crowded  meet- 
ings of  the  general  council,  which  frequently  exhibited  a  scene 
of  violence  and  confusion.  These  fifty  or  sixty  members  were 
for  a  long  time  chosen  by  the  syndics,  who  summoned  some- 
times one  and  sometimes  another,  almost  without  distinction, 
when  and  as  often  as  they  pleased.  After  the  league  with  Frei- 
burg and  Bern,  which  had  a  council  of  two  hundred,  a  council  of 
the  same  number  was  desired.  The  lesser  council  elected  this, 
and  it  was  only  to  assemble  at  its  command,  which  was  the  case 
with  that  of  the  sixty.  But  every  one  had  the  right  to  claim  the 
bXimnioiis  for  an  especial  occasion,  if  he  would  bear  (he  cost  of  the 
meeting,  that  is,  at  the  rate  of  a  sol  (a  franc  in  present  money) 
for  each  member. 

(Jalvin  now  appeared.     The  reformer  desired  to  put  down  the 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LEGAL    REFORM.  357 

spirit  of  insurrection,  to  establish  peace,  not  despotism  ;  and  in 
the  year  1555  he  succeeded  in  limiting  the  freedom  of  the  state, 
so  that  his  opponents  might  not  have  it  always  in  their  power 
to  summon  the  council,  which  possessed  so  great,  so  almost 
irresistible  an  influence.  His  name  indeed  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  report  of  the  proceedings,  but  nothing  whatever  was  at- 
tempted at  this  period  without  his  being  consulted.  This  limit- 
ing of  their  freedom  made  him  especially  haled  by  the  opposite 
party.  It  was  now  treated  as  a  high  misdemeanor  if  any  one 
required  the  meeting  of  the  great  council  of  the  citizens,  a  dis- 
turbance being  expected  as  the  consequence.  The  tendency  of 
Calvin  went  so  far  as  to  favor,  when  possible,  the  organization 
of  an  oligarchy  ;  and  in  this  he  succeeded.  The  general  assem- 
bly was  now  convened  only  twice  in  the  year  ;  in  February  to 
choose  the  syndics,  and  in  November  to  nominate  the  lieutenant 
and  the  auditors,  who  had  superseded  the  vice-domini  in  regu- 
lating and  determining  the  price  of  wine.  It  was  now  also 
commanded,  that  nothing  should  be  proposed  in  the  general  as- 
sembly which  had  not  been  previously  considered  in  the  council 
of  two  hundred,  and  nothing  in  the  latter  which  had  not  been 
brought  before  the  council  of  sixty  ;  nor  in  the  latter,  which  had 
not  been  examined  and  approved  by  the  lesser  council.  In  this 
assembly  there  were  eight  members,  who  had  not  been  replaced 
in  the  course  of  the  year,  namely,  the  four  old  and  the  four  new 
syndics.  Hence  the  power  became  gradually  concentrated  in 
this  body,  the  other  sixteen  members  being  chosen  by  the  two 
hundred,  who  had  themselves  been  nominated  by  the  lesser 
council,  and  to  whom  this  furnished  a  list  of  thirty  names,  out 
of  which  the  sixteen  were  to  be  selected.  This  was  only  for  the 
current  year  ;  but  it  could  scarcely  fail  that  the  most  influential 
party  would  again  choose  a  large  number  of  their  followers.  The 
power  of  the  state  therefore  lay  peculiarly  in  the  lesser  council. 
It  was  constantly  in  activity,  and  held  four  regular  sittings  in 
the  week,  while  the  other  councils  assembled  only  for  extraor- 
dinary business.  It  had  the  nomination  to  almost  all  the  great 
offices  of  the  state,  except  that  of  the  syndics,  of  the  general 
procurator,  the  lieutenant,  and  some  others.  For  these  it  se- 
lected only  two  candidates  ;  the  council  of  two  hundred  revised 
this  selection,  and  the  general  council  did  the  same.  The  votes 
were  given  to  the  two  state-secretaries  in  secret.  When  the 
general  council  accepted  one  of  the  candidates,  the  choice  was 
confirmed ;    if   it   rejected    both,    the    whole    process  had    to    be 


358  calvin's  legal  labors.  [chap.  iv. 

begun  afresh,  so  that  no  one  could  obtain  these  offices  without 
having  a  majority  of  the  people  in  his  favor.  The  general 
council,  to  choose  four  syndics,  had  only  eight  candidates  from 
whom  to  select ;  of  these,  two  were  chosen  from  the  lower  and 
two  from  the  higher  classes  of  the  city.  If  it  rejected  the  list,  a 
new  one  was  presented  ;  and  it  stood  opposed  to  those  who  re- 
sisted its  sovereignty,  and  must  in  the  end  fulfil  the  will  of  the 
lesser  council,  or  an  insurrection  was  the  consequence.  Thus, 
at  last,  the  great  families  retained  the  chief  power  in  their  hands. 
The  syndics,  with  the  council,  had  the  right  of  passing  sentence 
of  death  in  the  processes  over  which  they  presided.  As  presidents 
of  the  council,  they  had  the  whole  public  business  under  their 
management,  and  possessed  at  the  same  time  the  power  of  the 
executive.  Hence  the  earlier  spiritual  and  wealthy  aristocracy 
was  changed  into  that  of  the  citizens. 

It  may  appear  strange  that  Calvin  did  not  undertake  the 
second  revision  of  the  laws  ;  but  it  seems  that  a  certain  degree 
of  jealousy,  on  the  part  of  the  magistrates,  prevented  their  en- 
trusting him  again  with  so  important  a  matter,  not  only  because 
he  was  a  foreigner,  but  because  of  the  religious  power  which  he 
possessed.  The  task  was  therefore  entrusted  to  Germain  Col- 
ladon,  although  he  too  was  a  stranger.  But  as  Calvin  was  on 
very  intimate  terms  with  Colladon,  who  entertained  the  most 
devoted  regard  for  him.  he  still  continued  to  exercise  an  indi- 
rect influence  on  the  legislation.  If  Calvin  therefore  considered 
a  new  law  necessary,  he  appeared  before  the  council  and  de- 
manded it  in  the  name  of  the  consistory  ;  and  this  was  granted 
whenever  any  of  the  members  of  the  assembly  were  of  his  opin- 
ion or  party.  A  great  many  remarkable  documents  show,  that 
Calvin  thoroughly  examined  not  only  the  higher  spheres  of 
Genevese  legislation,  but  penetrated  even  to  its  minutest  pecu- 
liarities. We  read  with  astonishment  essays,  in  his  hand-writing, 
on  questions  of  pure  administration,  on  all  kinds  of  matters  of 
police,  and  on  the  modes  of  protection  from  fire  ;  as  well  as  on 
legal  proceedings,  instructions  for  the  inspector  of  buildings,  for 
the  artillery  superintendent,  and  the  keepers  of  the  watch-towers; 
all  which  shows  that,  to  powerful  minds,  the  little  is,  in  its  place, 
as  important  and  necessary  as  the  great ;  because  that  all  things 
are  equally  little  and  equally  great  in  their  presence,  as  before 
the  eye  of  God.* 

We  recognize  in  Calvin's  legislation  the  majesty,  the  earnest- 

*  Brctschncider.     J.  Calvini  Lit.  quoedaiu,  pp.  60-99. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  PUNISHMENT    OF    CRIME.  359 

ness  and  strictness  of  his  mind,  the  qualities  which  God  glorifies 
in  his  own  holy  severity  as  the  judge  of  the  wicked.  He  had  the 
honor  of  God,  and  not  merely  the  security  of  man,  in  view.  The 
spirit  which  guided  him,  and  the  principle  which  lay  nearest  his 
heart,  are  found  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Somerset,  the  regent  of 
England,  to  whom,  iti  1546,  he  tendered  instructions,  in  the  high- 
est degree  characteristic,  respecting  the  Christian  government  of 
a  kingdom.  The  right  of  punishment  established  by  the  old  cov- 
enant, which  everywhere  threatened  the  stiff-necked  people  with 
death,  proclaiming  thereby  the  anger  and  righteousness  of  God, 
is  constantly  apparent  in  the  statements  of  Calvin. 

With  him,  as  with  Moses,  the  spiritual  members  of  the  state 
were  judges ;  both  were  zealous  for  the  honor  of  God.  As  with 
Moses  idolatry,  so  now  was  blasphemy  punished  with  death.  As 
the  law  of  Moses  recognizes  no  peculiar  crime  as  treason  against 
the  state,  which  however  must  probably  occur  in  the  existence 
of  a  nation  ;  so  with  Calvin,  in  the  same  way,  it  is  marked  as 
treason  against  God.  To  curse,  or  to  strike  a  parent,  is  punished 
in  both  systems  with  death  ;  theft  in  both  is  punished  with  loss 
of  freedom  only;  unchastity  is  treated  severely  in  both,  and  the 
penalty  of  adultery  is  death.  There  is  no  mention  of  suicide  in 
Moses  ;  with  Calvin  it  is  followed  by  infamy.  The  greatest  with 
Moses  is  stoning  to  death,  with  Calvin  burning  to  death.  With 
Moses  the  dead  body  only  of  the  criminal  was  burnt.  Both  em- 
ployed disgrace  as  a  punishment  ;  but  infamy  or  banishment  does 
not  occur  in  the  Mosaic  law.  The  later  Jews  only  knew  three 
kinds  of  banishment. 

There  is  even  reason  to  believe  that  Calvin,  as  soon  as  he  ob- 
tained increased  authority,  endeavored  to  sharpen  by  degrees 
the  severity  of  the  earlier  laws,  which  had  been  received  by  the 
state;  that  they  retained  their  original  form  till  about  the  year 
1560,  but  were,  after  his  death,  thoroughly  imbued  with  his 
sterner  principles.  Several  cases  of  punishment  illustrate  this 
statement.  Edicts  exist,  drawn  up  by  him  in  1556,  "  Sur  les 
jmillardiscs,  adultcres,  blasphemes,  jnre?nens  et  despitcmens  de 
Dieu  /'  but  the  council  of  two  hundred  found  them  too  severe, 
and  decided  (November  15th)  that,  because  they  seemed  too  rude 
to  some,  they  should  be  moderated  and  revised,  and  apres  estre 
prescnles  en  general. 

The  overthrow  of  the  libertines  had  given  power  to  the  con- 
sistory, and  offenders  could  now  be  punished  with  more  success 
than    formerly.      Adultery,   which,   before    Calvin's    return,    was 


360  CHURCH    DISCIPLINE.  [cHAl'.IV. 

punished  only  by  an  imprisonment  of  some  days,  or  by  a  trilling 
fine,  was  now  punished  with  death.  An  adult  ress  was  drowned 
in  the  Rhone.  Thus  two  citizens  of  the  best  families  (Hein- 
rich  Philip  and  Jacques  le  Neveu)  were  beheaded.  A  remark- 
able fact  is  mentioned  in  the  trial  of  the  former,  descriptive  of 
the  spirit  of  the  times.  This  citizen  had  kept  in  his  house  for 
fifteen  years  a  figure  painted  on  glass,  which  he  called  his  house- 
hold god,  and  through  which  he  boasted  to  be  able  to  discover 
any  infidelity  on  the  part  of  his  wife.  He  preserved  this  figure, 
notwithstanding  the  command  which  he  had  received  from  the 
council  and  the  consistory  to  destroy  it.  This  fact,  seemed  very 
weighty  to  the  judges,  and  contributed  greatly  to  bring  Philip  to 
the  sea  (Fold.* 

Viewed  according  to  the  principles  of  the  reformer,  the  grounds 
of  this  great  severity  in  legislation  may  be  found  partly  in  the 
sternness  of  the  notions  then  prevailing,  partly  in  the  depravity 
of  that  class  of  the  people  which  opposed  itself  to  all  religion 
and  order ;  and  further,  in  the  position  of  the  little  republic, 
which,  being  surrounded  by  larger  states,  whose  constant  effort 
it  was  to  excite  insurrections  in  the  city,  had  daily  occasion  to 
institute  the  hottest  prosecution  of  the  supposed  traitors.  In 
the  year  1539,  for  example,  it  was  resolved  that  every  senator 
who  made  known  the  secret  proceedings  of  the  council  should 
lose  his  head.  The  council  of  the  two  hundred  however  ordered 
that  he  should  only  have  his  tongue  bored  through.  The  kinds 
of  punishment  employed  bear  the  stamp  of  the  century  :  the 
blazing  pile,  the  rack,  tearing  the  flesh  with  red-hot  pincers, 
and  strangling,  were  the  most  usual  instruments  or  modes  of  tor- 
ture. 

All  traces  of  the  old  religion,  wherever  discovered,  were  in- 
stantly abolished.  The  preachers  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  fami- 
lies, and  proved  the  people  as  to  their  opinions  and  belief,  not 
allowing  them  to  approach  the  Lord's  Supper  without  first  ob- 
taining permission.  But  if  a  man.  not  forbidden  to  partake  of 
the  sacrament,  neglected  to  receive  it,  he  was  condemned  to 
banishment  for  a  year.  In  15G1  a  man  was  condemned  to  do 
penance  openly,  because  he  had  not  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper 
at  "Whitsuntide;  and  his  son  shared  the  punishment,  because 
both  had  neglected  to  attend  afternoon  service.  In  the  year 
1561  the  command  was  issued  by  the  consistory,  that  no  one 
should  remain  three  days  in  bed  from  sickness  without  giving 
*  Spon.  t.  i.  p.  305. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CHURCH    DISCIPLINE.  361 

notice  to  the  minister  of  his  quarter,  that  he  might  receive  ad- 
monition and  comfort — then,  it  is  said,  more  necessary  than  ever. 
Sermons  were  frequent  and  very  much  desired:  family  worship 
was  also  observed  with  the  greatest  regularity.  According  to  a 
military  order  of  the  year  1589,  the  garrison  was  to  attend  prayers 
twice  a-day,  and  this  praiseworthy  custom  was  kept  up  till  the 
end  of  the  last  century.  At  every  gate  of  the  city  a  soldier 
kneeled  down  before  the  portal  was  closed  at  night,  and  before  it 
was  opened  in  the  morning,  and  repeated  a  prayer  with  a  loud 
voice.  According  to  a  state-protocol,  three  children  were  punished 
because,  during  the  sermon,  instead  of  going  into  church  they 
remained  outside  to  eat  cakes.  Idle  talk  and  conduct,  such  as 
was  contrary  to  good  manners,  or  injured  at  all  the  moral  feel- 
ing, were  severely  chastised.  Galiffe  states,  by  way  of  mockery, 
that  whilst  the  preachers  used  hard,  rude  sayings  in  their  ser- 
mons, the  consistory  desired  that  the  peasants  should  use  court 
language  to  their  children;  and  that  a  countryman  was  once 
brought  to  trial  because  he  had  cursed  his  beast.  The  judges  pun- 
ished not  only  blasphemy,  but  such  expressions  as  intimated  even 
indirectly  any  disrespect  towards  God.  In  the  year  1568  a  mason 
was  put  in  prison  three  days,  because  while  falling  from  a  build- 
ing he  had  exclaimed,  "This  must  be  the  devil's  way,  and  so  too 
my  master  and  the  work  which  he  set  me."  Those  also  were 
punished  as  blasphemers  who  said  hard  things  against  the  refu- 
gees, because,  being  spoken  against  martyrs,  they  were  considered 
as  spoken  against  God. 

There  is  great  beauty  in  the  earnestness  with  which  the  au- 
thority of  parents  was  defended.  In  the  year  1563  a  young  girl 
who  had  insulted  her  mother  was  kept  confined,  fed  on  bread 
and  water,  and  obliged  to  express  her  repentance  publicly  in  the 
church.  A  peasant  boy  who  had  called  his  mother  a  devil,  and 
flung  a  stone  at  her,  was  publicly  whipt,  and  suspended  by  his 
arms  to  a  gallows  as  a  sign  that  he  deserved  death,  and  was 
only  spared  on  account  of  his  youth.  Another  child  in  1568, 
for  having  struck  his  parents  was  beheaded.  A  lad  of  sixteen, 
for  having  only  threatened  to  strike  his  mother,  was  condemned 
to  death  ;  on  account  of  his  youth  the  sentence  was  softened, 
and  he  was  only  banished,  after  being  publicly  whipped,  with 
a  halter  about  his  neck.  The  stern  legislator  desired  that 
children  should  be  brought  up  in  the  strictest  manner,  but 
at  the  same  time  instructors  were  forbidden  to  employ 
undue  severity  ;  and   one  of  them   in  1563,  that  is,  in  Calvin's 


362  SUPPRESSION    OF    GAMING.  [CHAP.   IV. 

life-time,  was  degraded  and  condemned  to  perform  penance,  be- 
cause he  had  broken  oat  the  tooth  of  one  of  his  pupils. 

The  military  ordinance  before  alluded  to  declares  that  rape 
and  the  double  crime  of  adultery  should  be  punished  with  loss 
of  life:  simple  adultery  was  to  be  punished  with  the  iron-collar; 
witchcraft  with  only  nineteen  days'  imprisonment;  but  the  states- 
register  names  a  great  number  of  individuals  who  were  drowned 
for  this  species  of  crime.  In  the  year  1513  a  young  female 
singer  was  banished  for  a  year  and  a  day;  the  man  who  shared 
her  guilt  was  only  imprisoned  three  days;  this  distinction  in  the 
treatment  of  the  man  and  the  woman  is  met  with  continually  ; 
the  latter  was  subjected  to  the  severe  infliction  of  banishment, 
because  she  sang  worldly,  licentious  songs.  In  the  year  1565 
another  was  scourged,  because  she  sang  common  songs  to  psalm 
tunes.  In  1576  the  consistory  excommunicated  a  young  woman 
because  she  had  dressed  herself  in  man's  attire;  her  mother  was 
subjected  to  the  same  punishment,  because  she  had  permitted  the 
girl  thus  to  disguise  herself.  In  the  year  1579  a  gentleman  of 
respectability  in  the  city,  was  imprisoned  twenty-four  hours  be- 
cause he  had  been  found  reading  the  Florentine  Poggio's  nar- 
ratives :  he  was  compelled  publicly  to  burn  the  work,  denominated 
in  the  register  as  profane  and  infamous.  In  the  same  manner, 
in  1598,  a  man  was  thrown  into  prison  for  dressing  himself  as  a 
woman. 

The  severity  of  the  legislation  thus  established  is  evinced  in 
some  of  the  minuter  points  of  discipline.  Brides,  for  example, 
were  not  permitted  to  wear  wreaths  in  their  bonnets,  unless  of 
unblemished  character.  Before  the  time  of  Calvin,  the  laws 
against  luxury  and  the  mode  of  living  among  the  reformed  Gene- 
vese  indicate  the  prevalence  of  great  luxury  and  splendor  in  the 
city.  This  appears  from  a  colloquy  by  Matthew  Cordiei,  in  his 
description  of  a  most  sumptuous  feast,  at  which  the  four  syndics 
were  present.  These  manners  however  were  altogether  changed, 
and  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  severity, 
simplicity  and  moderation  characterized,  in  an  extraordinary 
degree,  the  mode  of  living  adopted  by  the  inhabitants.  Gam- 
blers were  set  in  the  pillory  with  their  cards  about  their  neck: 
even  in  1506  the  council  had  forbidden  playing  with  dice,  nine- 
pins, or  cards  in  the  public  streets.  In  the  years  1516  and 
1556  laws  were  passed  prohibiting  the  manufacture  of  cards. 
The  clergy  showed  themselves  still  more  earnest  in  this  matter 
than   the  council:    they  refused  to   tolerate    many   amusements 


A.D.  1541-49.]       PUNISHMENT    OF    WITCHCRAFT.  303 

which  the  council  accounted  innocent.  In  the  year  1576  they 
excommunicated  some  young  people,  who  on  the  day  of  the  three 
holy  kings  were  found  playing  at  a  game  common  to  the  festival, 
and  one  of  the  simplest  among  them  was  persuaded*  into  the 
belief  that  his  head  would  be  cut  off.  The  council  considered 
that  such  a  punishment  would  be  too  severe,  and  made  their  rep- 
resentations to  the  consistory  accordingly. 

Calvin  preserved  the  laws  of  the  later  Roman  emperors  against 
heresy  ;  he  also  retained  that  which  prescribed  the  punishment 
of  death  by  fire  for  witchcraft.  There  is  one  circumstance  pecu- 
liarly interesting,  mentioned  by  the  historians  of  the  city  in  de- 
scribing the  numerous  trials  for  witchcraft,  extending  up  to  the 
year  1652,  when  the  last  witch  was  condemned,  and  out  of  mercy 
was  put  to  death  by  hanging.  In  the  space  of  sixty  years,  ac- 
cording to  the  public  register  of  the  council,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
persons  were  burnt  to  death,  in  the  little  state  of  Geneva,  on  the 
accusation  of  witchcraft.  Their  crime  is  generally  described  in 
the  processes  as  the  crime  de  leze  majesty  divine  au  plus  haut 
chef,  which  throws  still  greater  light  upon  Calvin's  principle,  that 
at  least  as  much  zeal  ought  to  be  shown  for  the  honor  of  God  as 
for  that  of  the  state.  The  final  abolition  of  this  fanatical  judg- 
ment of  the  human  mind,  awaking  as  it  were  out  of  slumber, 
took  place  at  Geneva  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Wizards  do  not  appear  to  have  been  punished  with  death  before 
the  reformation.  No  example  at  least  of  their  being  so  is  found 
in  the  annals :  they  were  subjected  however  to  a  legal  prosecu- 
tion. In  the  year  1503  the  council  informed  a  magician,  that 
if  he  did  not  leave  the  city  he  should  be  driven  out  with  cudgels. 
It  was  not  till  after  the  reformation  therefore  that  the  old  and 
severe  law,  which  was  in  force  during  the  middle  ages,  was 
again  called  into  action.  Remarkable  indeed  is  it  that  Calvin, 
who  was  kind-hearted,  benevolent  and  tender,  and  Beza  also, 
had  not  yet  advanced  sufficiently  to  protest  against  enactions 
so  stern  and  cruel.  This  is  the  more  worthy  of  observation, 
as  in  the  early  part  of  Calvin's  life  we  discover  no  peculiar 
trace  of  intolerance,  and  for  so  strict  a  reasoner,  and  for  one  who 
complained  so  much  against  the  intolerance  of  the  Roman 
catholics,  principles  of  the  kind  referred  to  were  full  of  incon- 
sistency. 

Calvin  left  (he  use  of  torture  as  he  found  it,  and  as  it  was  then 
practised  in  the  whole  civilized  world  :  it  was  not  however  em- 
ployed in  the  trials  of  heretics,  as  in  those  of  Servetus  and  Gen- 


364  PENAL    LAWS.  [cHAP.  IV, 

tilis.  The  use  of  torture  continued  at  Geneva  for  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  Calvin's  death,  but  was  abolished  earlier 
there  than  in  other  states,  the  council  at  length,  after  many 
efforts,  opening  its  eyes  to  the  enormity.  Germain  Colladon  justi- 
fied the  employment  of  the  greatest  severity,  and  we  find  that  he 
recommended  the  torture  in  the  generality  of  trials.  The  inten- 
tion of  this  practice  was  probably  to  avoid  sentencing  the  criminal 
to  death  without  sufficient  evidence  ;  but  in  those  stormy,  unset- 
tled times  this  was  too  readily  done,  and  falsehood,  not  truth,  was 
often  wrung  from  the  unhappy  sufferer.  No  indication  exists  of 
Calvin's  wishing  to  employ  the  torture,  but  it  is  important  as 
illustrative  of  his  position  at  Geneva,  that  he  was  accused  of  hav- 
ing, by  means  of  the  rack,  brought  some  persons  guilty  of  sedi- 
tion to  confess  their  crime.  This  slander  having  reached  Zurich, 
he  defended  himself  against  it  in  a  convincing  letter  to  Bullinger 
(1555).  He  says  however  nothing  against  the  legality  of  the 
procedure,  although  the  criminals  before  their  execution  retracted 
some  portion  of  the  confession  which  had  been  wrung  from  them 
in  their  agony. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  centre  point  of  the  new  system  in- 
volved, with  the  reformation  of  manners,  a  most  determined 
hatred  against  sin  and  wickedness.  Both  the  council  and  the 
consistory  acted,  in  their  legal  proceedings,  with  a  degree  of  pas- 
sion. The  tranquil,  moderate  spirit  of  Calvin,  the  influence  of 
which  u  felt  even  in  these  times,  obtained  its  dominion  over  the 
people  only  by  slow  degrees.  In  the  rivalry  between  the  clergy 
and  the  council,  especially  after  Calvin's  death,  when  they  strove 
so  anxiously  for  a  stern  morality,  the  power  of  holiness  seems 
to  have  been  dominant  over  all.  The  outward  freedom  of  life 
was  hereby  somewhat  abridged,  but  this  was  disregarded. 
So  far  was  the  city  from  being  avoided,  that  people  flocked  to 
it  from  all  parts;  and  many  sent  their  children  to 'receive  their 
education  there.  A  vast  number  of  noble  spirits  unfolded  their 
powers  under  the  stern  administration  of  its  laws.  This  sever- 
ity, instead  of  crippling  the  energy  of  the  mind,  promoted  it ;  it 
being  directed  solely  against  vice,  the  great  enemy  of  man. 
Neither  did  it  produce  disgust,  but  the  profoundest  reverence 
for  the  majesty  of  God,  in  whose  name  it  was  practised.  What 
seriousness  such  a  state  of  the  law  created — what  an  earnest 
spirit  it  diffused  among  all  classes,  is  very  apparent ;  and 
one  may  rightly  affirm  that  Calvin  pursued  wickedness  with 
fire  and  sword  ;  that  his  laws  were  written  not  only  in  blood, 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  theocracy.  365 

like  (hose  of  the  Athenian  Draco,  but  with  a  pen  of  flame.  The 
man  of  sound  moral  feeling  loves  justice  and  severity,  and  a  con- 
sistent reverential  administration  of  the  law  is  for  such  a  char- 
acter far  more  sublime,  far  more  beautiful,  than  anything  which 
can  be  suggested  by  that  tame,  slumbering  spirit  of  refinement, 
which  would  abolish  every  kind  of  capital  punishment.  An  in- 
telligent child  once  said  when  reading  the  Old  Testament,  "  It 
must  require  great  trust  in  God  to  put  a  man  to  death."  This 
was  the  profoundest  thing  that  could  be  uttered  respecting  capital 
punishments.  And  when  it  is  seen  how  the  Genevese  legisla- 
ture, which  had  a  minister  of  religion  for  its  author,  played  with 
life,  one  cannot  help  deeply  feeling,  that  trust  in  God  lay  at  the 
foundation  of  it  all,  and  that  Calvin's  sanguinary  principle  was 
grounded  in  his  religion. 

The  Theocratic  Ideal  unites  in  intimate  harmony  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  the  Decalogue  of  the  Gospel;  and  it  thence 
became  the  duty  of  the  reformer  to  exhibit  God's  redeeming  love 
and  grace,  on  which  the  Christian  church  is  supported,  in  contrast 
with  the  consuming  fire  of  the  divine  holiness:  hence  he  closely 
blended  with  the  system  of  legislation  the  new  ecclesiastical  polity 
which  we  are  now  about  to  describe. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CALVIN     THE     FOUNDER      OF     AN      ECCLESIASTICAL      CONSTITU- 
TION.  COMMON    PRINCIPLES    OF    REFORM    ADOPTED    BY   HIM. 

HIS    PRINCIPLES    OF    CHURCH    DISCIPLINE. 

The  church  discipline  introduced  by  Calvin  can  never  properly 
be  considered  as  antiquated,  or  as  possessing  only  an  historical 
interest :  it  retains  its  practical  worth  in  all  ages.  Calvin's 
structure  is  the  result  of  an  experiment  made  by  the  human 
mind,  to  lay  a  firm  foundation  for  the  unity  of  the  church  in 
contrast  to  Catholicism,  which  could  discover  no  other  means 
than  despoiism  ;  and  to  oppose,  at  the  same  time,  the  spirit  of 
schism,  with  which  the  proteslant  principle  of  freedom  had  been 
almost  necessarily  united.  The  only  available  authority  in  Cal- 
vin's eyes  was  that  of  the  synods,  which  answered  to  the  ancient 


366  ECCLESIASTICAL    CONSTITUTION.  [CHAP.  V. 

councils.  We  have  never  ceased  to  be  told  by  the  old  catholic 
church,  (hat  the  only  alternative  is  submission  to  the  authority 
of  the  papal  chair,  or  the  anarchy  which  follows  in  the  train  of 
rationalism.  This  has  been  insisted  upon  by  controversialists 
with  superfluous  care,  and  according  to  abstract  reasoning  there 
seems  indeed  to  be  no  other  choice  than  that  mentioned.  But 
Calvin,  on  the  contrary,  shows  the  possibility  of  a  middle  course, 
according  to  the  pattern  of  the  original  church,  when  the  opposi- 
tion spoken  of  did  not  yet  exist,  but  the  still  uncompleted  work 
contained  the  most  admirable  materials  and  indications,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  Christian  church  might  again  be  raised  from 
the  ruins  of  the  fallen  edifice.  He  alone  avoided  the  error  which 
seems  to  have  pervaded  the  whole  protestant  church,  of  casting 
off  the  authority  of  the  papal  chair  only  to  substitute  a  new 
power — the  authority,  that  is,  of  several  or  of  one.  But  synods, 
the  union  of  clergy  and  laity,  take  away  the  difficulty,  and  afford 
that  measure  of  the  spirit  which  God  grants  his  church,  and 
whereby  the  truth  is  defended  at  any  stated  time,  and  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  faith  are  set  forth  far  more  correctly  and  securely 
than  it  can  be  effected  by  the  decision  of  a  father  of  the  church, 
or  by  the  pope. 

This  matter  deserves  especial  consideration  in  our  own  times, 
when  the  force  of  circumstances  leads  us  to  desire  an  ecclesiastical 
rule,  in  order  to  oppose,  by  the  holy  unity  of  the  church,  that 
division  of  opinions,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  English  and 
North  American  states,  threatens  a  total  dissolution. 

The  fundamental  principles  which  the  reformer  followed  out  in 
spirit  may  be  arranged  as  follows.  His  edifice  was  to  exhibit, 
according  to  the  form  of  the  primitive  church,  a  direct  contrast  to 
the  papacy. 

I.  The  Gospel,  and  not  human  laws,  forms  the  ^central  point 
of  power — the  living  principle.  Neither  the  visible  church  nor 
outward  works,  but  the  Gospel,  and  that  through  faith  in  Christ, 
secures  man's  salvation. 

II.  The  conscience  and  the  understanding  of  man,  enlight- 
ened by  the  Holy  Ghost,  discover  the  truth  in  Scripture,  and 
then  are  further  guided  by  Scripture,  and  armed  against  error 
and  fanaticism.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  author  of  unity  in  the 
church,  and  secures  its  constant  progress  under  all  the  various 
circumstances  of  the  human  mind.  This  is  the  inward,  funda- 
mental principle  which  stands  directly  opposed  to  the  catholic 
rule  of  despotism  and  compulsion    in    matters  of  religion.      In 


A.D.  1541-49.]  PLAN    OP    REFORMATION.  367 

the  last  instance,  the  synods  determine  the  sense  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, and  they  alone  have  the  right  to  establish  creeds,  to  change, 
or  abolish  them. 

III.  The  outward  fundamental  principle  of  opposition  to  the 
catholic  rule — the  mightiest  means  employed  to  subdue  the 
pride  of  the  clergy — is  the  presbyterian  form  of  government,  in 
which  Calvin  opposed  a  double  number  of  laymen  to  the  min- 
isters in  the  assembly,  so  that  the  former  could  always  outvote 
the  latter  whenever  they  found  it  necessary. 

IV.  The  church,  mighty  through  the  spirit  animating  it,  must 
be  in  the  hand  of  the  state.  An  outward  subjection  shames  it 
not.  The  state  may  inspect  the  property  of  the  church,  but  not 
appropriate  it  to  itself. 

V.  Lastly,  to  secure  the  order  of  the  church,  and  to  render 
the  reform  of  manners  possible,  Calvin  desired  to  introduce  cer- 
tain regulations ;  as,  first,  laws  against  free-thinkers  and  here- 
tics, with  the  design  of  establishing  unity  and  defending  the 
principles  of  the  reformation, — a  precaution  rendered  necessary 
by  the  present  condition  of  affairs;  and  secondly,  a  watchful 
discipline,  which  might  oppose  every  species  of  immorality, — a 
system  of  spiritual  instruction,  a  code  of  morals,  and  therewith 
the  means  of  compelling  obedience. 

Calvin's  whole  plan  of  reformation  is  to  be  considered  accord- 
ing to  these  simple  principles.  The  Gospel,  and  not  the  pope, 
brings  salvation  and  the  inner  life.  The  presbyterian  form  of 
government  secures  the  outward  life,  and  gives  the  outward 
form. 

We  will  now  examine  this  form  under  the  following  particu- 
lars : — 

I.  Calvin's  principles  of  church  discipline,  according  to  the 
first  and  last  propositions  of  the  'Institutes.' 

II.  How  the  church  in  Geneva  was  established  with  slight 
variations  from  his  principle. 

III.  Criticism  of  the  principles  which  he  followed  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  church  at  Geneva. 

IV.  Perfected  improvement  of  the  presbyterian  constitution 
in  the  French  reformed  church. 

V.  Views  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  respect  to  the  church 
and  discipline.     The  consistorial  form. 

VI.  Calvin  was  not  opposed  to  the  episcopal  form. 

The  direction  which  Calvin  took  as  a  reformer  in  matters  of 
discipline,  was  that   pointed   out  by  Zwingli,  and  the  opposite  of 


368  ZWlNGLl's    CHURCH    POLITY.  [cHAP.  V. 

that  pursued  by  Luther.  The  latter,  from  his  fondness  for  the 
old  customs,  willingly  allowed  that  to  remain  which  could  in 
any  way  be  brought  to  consort  with  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  the  most  important  of  all  things  in  the  eyes  of  this  re- 
former. He  abolished  only  that  which  was  palpably  erroneous 
or  superstitious,  and  would  readily  have  retained  the  old  form  of 
government;  even  the  papacy  itself,  if  it  would  have  admitted  of 
reform.  Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  went  much  further.  Like 
Zwingli,  he  proceeded  with  an  inquiring  and  critical  spirit. 
Willi  him  Scripture  alone  had  authority.  Neither  traditions 
nor  observances,  however  authorized  by  custom,  were  spared  : 
unless  they  could  stand  the  proof,  they  fell  beneath  the  sword  of 
God's  Word.  Thus  the  great  simplicity  of  the  form  of  worship, 
and  the  plain  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  would 
have  no  holidays,  and  tolerated  nothing  which  is  not  found 
mentioned  in  Scripture  as  belonging  to  the  discipline  of  the 
primitive  church.  Zwingli,  who  had  adopted  the  same  principles 
before  him,  took  a  similar  course,  but  his  church  polity  was  far 
from  being  so  characteristic,  and  he  had  consequently  less  power 
over  the  minds  of  the  people.  Calvin  accordingly  never  cites 
him  in  the  account,  of  his  own  ideas. 

Zwingli's  sketch  of  his  church  polity  appeared  in  1532,  in  the 
preachers'  ordinance  of  the  superintendent  Bullinger,  at  Zurich. 
It  was  laid  before  a  synod  consisting  of  pastors,  preachers,  and 
two  representatives  of  the  congregation.  The  subjects  con- 
sidered were,  first,  the  choice,  appointment  and  ordination  of 
ministers;  secondly,  their  doctrine  and  life;  anil  thirdly,  the  as- 
sembling of  synods.  In  these  were  involved  the  principles  of  the 
still  existing,  but  now  further  developed,  constitution  of  the 
church  at  Zurich. 

The  synod,  summoned  by  the  government,  assembled  twice  in 
the  year,  under  the  conduct  of  two  presidents,  one  of  whom  was 
chosen  from  among  the  preachers  out  of  the  lessor  and  greater 
council;  the  other  from  the  lesser  council  only.  All  the  mem- 
bers of  i lie  synod  were  preachers,  and  including  the  lay  presi- 
dents, there  were  eighf  representatives  of  the  government.  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  congregation  are  no  longer  known.  The  prot- 
ocols are  issued  by  the  court. 

The  church  is  subject,  to  the  state,  but  the  advice  of  the  synod, 
which  frequently  carries  on  its  deliberations  in  the  presence  of 
members  of  the  government,  has  often  exercised  its  influence 
upon  the  latter,  even  in  political  affairs.     Every  individual  mem- 


A.D.  1541-49.]  SYSTEM    OF    DISCIPLINE.  369 

ber  of  the  church  had  also  a  certain  degree  of  influence  on  its 
affairs  through  this,  that  the  congregation  was  allowed  to  express 
its  opinion  respecting  the  chosen  preachers.  In  the  year  1526  a 
foundation  was  laid,  through  the  marriage  ordinance,  for  the 
stability  of  the  church.  According  to  this  decree,  from  two  to 
four  pious  men  were  allowed  to  every  minister  as  assistants. 
They  were  to  see  that  the  laws  of  marriage  were  strictly  observ- 
ed, to  warn  the  quarrelsome  and  litigious,  and  in  case  of  neces- 
sity to  consign  such  persons  to  the  magistrate  to  be  punished. 
This  regulation  prevailed  in  the  towns  as  well  as  in  the  country. 
Thence  arose  the  establishment  of  officers,  to  whom  was  en- 
trusted the  oversight  of  morals  and  church  discipline.  These 
persons  were  even  allowed  to  inflict  a  certain  measure  of  punish- 
ment, when  warnings  and  admonitions  did  not  avail,  by  ex- 
acting fines,  imposing  penances  more  or  less  degrading,  and 
even  by  excluding  the  offender  from  the  Lord's  table.  The 
right  to  inflict  this  last  mode  of  punishment,  however,  it  was 
soon  found  proper  to  restrict  to  the  superior  officers. 

Calvin's  mind  was  settled  at  the  very  commencement  of  his 
course,  as  to  the   resolution  of  the  collective  questions  on  disci- 
pline.    He  had  adopted,  and  he  followed  out  the  simple  principle, 
"(hat  the    Scriptures    and    the   primitive    church    must    decide." 
For  the  church  he  claimed  a  holy    authority,  given  it  by  God, 
and  embracing  the  power  of  the   keys   and  the  right  of  excom- 
munication, which    could    be  denied   it  only    by   the   enemies  of 
truth.     :rLet  us  but  contend,"  he  says,*  "with  united   forces  and 
invincible  zeal  for  that  sacred  power,  which  must  be  unassailable, 
and  the  Lord   Jesus  Christ  will  destroy  every  gainsay er  with  the 
breath    of   his  mouth."     He  wished   this    power    to    exist  in   an 
aristocratic  form  ;   and  that  he  was  the  first  from  whom   the  idea 
of  the    pure   presbyterian   constitution   sprung,   the   influence  of 
which,    through    the  living  spirit  which  diffused  it,  has  wrought 
so  mightily  on  the  whole  history,  of  the  church,  appears  plainly 
from  the  following  facts.     Zwingli,  though   he  adopted  the  prin- 
ciple   of  equality    among  the  clergy,   and   all  important    church 
affairs,  in    the  reformed   cantons,  were  settled   in    the   synod,  the 
laity    also    being    admitted    into    the    under-consistory  (Kirchen- 
stillstande).  yet    introduced  no  deputies  of  the  several    commu- 
nities   into    the    synod.       The    under-consistory    was    occupied 
chiefly  with  circumstances  arising  out.  of  the  marriage  laws,  and 
*Ep.  5-t  ad  Myconium. 

vol.  i. — 24 


370  ORDINATION    OF    MINISTERS.  [CHAP.  V. 

soon  became  an  assembly  of  public  officers.  Zwingli  moreover 
never  gave  these  laymen  the  character  of  presbyters,  who  were 
appointed  to  exercise  an  especial  oversight  of  all  the  members 
of  the  church,  of  the  clergy  as  well  as  the  laity,  and  were  ac- 
cordingly like  bishops.  Nothing  of  this  kind,  before  the  time 
of  Calvin,  was  known  at  Strasburg.  He  labored  with  great 
earnestness  to  establish  a  system  of  discipline  in  that  city,  but 
his  exertions  produced  little  effect.  No  trace  of  such  an  insti- 
tution existed  in  Geneva  at  an  earlier  period.  Farel,  who  was 
then  the  soul  of  everything,  had  not  attempted  to  establish  a 
consistory.  It  is  in  the  year  1537,  when  Calvin  was  there,  that 
we  meet  with  the  first  sign  of  the  union  of  the  clergy  and  laity. 
These  classes,  mention  of  which  is  first  made  in  reference  to 
Neufchatel,  and  which  still  exist  there,  did  not  however  consti- 
tute an  assembly  of  congregational  representatives.  Viret,  be- 
fore Calvin's  return,  urged  the  establishment  of  a  consistory  in 
1541,  but  probably  in  conformity  with  Calvin's  own  ideas  and 
wishes.  Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  as  early  as  the  year  1535, 
declared  his  sentiments  on  the  subject  in  the  'Institutes,'  and 
expressed  his  wish  that  preachers,  bishops  and  elders  were  chosen 
according  to  Scripture.  He  distinguishes  them  from  the  apostles, 
sets  them  by  their  side,  and  thus  abolishes  the  catholic  invention 
of  a  priestly  order.  He  allows  that,  according  to  Scripture,  it 
belongs  to  the  bishops  and  elders  to  administer  the  Word  and 
sacraments,  as  it  belonged  to  the  apostles  to  make  them 
known.  Thus  he  has  lightly  adjudged  the  Word  to  the  elders 
as  spiritual  teachers.  In  his  later  investigations,  he  made  a 
distinction  between  the  teaching  and  the  ministering  presbyters, 
departing  here  in  some  respect  from  the  Gospel.  He  also, 
it  is  to  be  regretted,  affords  no  room  for  travelling  teachers, 
apostles,  or  missionaries.  Such  might  visit  however  other 
churches  in  any  fixed  place,  and  according  to  a  prescribed  rule, 
as  teachers  or  helps.  Thus  Paul  writes  to  Titus,*  ';  For  this 
cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldst  set  in  order  the 
things  that  arc  wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in  every  city."  Luke 
illustrates  the  same  fact  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  when  he 
introduces  Paul  thus  addressing  the  elders  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus :  ;t  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves  and  to  all 
the  flock,  over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  over- 
seers, and  to  feed  the  church  of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased 

*  Chap.  i.  5. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  MINISTERIAL    ORDERS.  371 

with  his  own  blood."  *  In  the  same  manner  Paul  speaks  of 
Archippus,  bishop  of  the  Colossians,  and  of  a  bishop  of  the 
Philippians.f 

"If,"  continues  Calvin,  "we  rightly  comprehend  these  ex- 
pressions, it  will  be  easy  to  understand  what  were  the  functions 
of  the  presbyters.  I  call  bishops  and  presbyters,  without  distinc- 
tion, servants  of  the  church.  We  must  now  show  in  what 
their  calling  consisted,  who  appointed  the  bishops  and  elders,  and 
with  what  ceremonies  it  took  place.  The  calling  of  the  apos- 
tles cannot  be  adduced  as  an  example,  for  they  were  chosen  not 
by  men,  but  by  the  Lord.  Nor  is  it  clearly  enough  understood 
what  rule  the  apostles  followed.  Paul,  in  the  passage  above- 
quoted,  merely  says  that  he  had  left  Titus  in  Crete  to  ordain 
bishops  in  every  city ;  and  he  elsewhere  warns  Timothy,  '  to  lay 
hands  suddenly  on  no  man ;  while  Luke,  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  says  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  ordained  elders  in  all  the 
churches  of  Lystra,  Iconium  and  Antioch.  The  papists  use 
these  statements,  and  assert  that  they  alone  have  the  right  to 
consecrate  bishops  ;  but  by  consecration  they  mean  priestly  con- 
secration, and  not  simply  the  right  to  appoint  some  one  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Word.  The  Scriptures  however  recognize  no 
other  servants  of  God  but  the  preachers  of  the  Word,  called  to 
govern  the  church,  and  whom  they  sometimes  name  bishops, 
sometimes  elders  or  pastors,  t  I  also  think  that  the  apostles 
gave  these  men  to  the  churches,  according  to  their  own  good 
opinion  of  them,  and  without  the  knowledge  or  will  of  the 
churches  themselves ;  but  having  taken  counsel  with  the  com- 
munity, they  chose  such  as  were  best  reputed  for  life  and  doc- 
trine." §  Again:  "The  congregations  were  allowed  a  voice,  and 
necessarily  so,  if  churches  existed  possessing  the  right  of  judg- 
ment, so  that  as  often  as  a  minister  was  to  be  chosen,  they  might 
summon  one  or  two  bishops  distinguished  for  holiness  of  life 
and  doctrine,  in  order  to  consult  with  them  respecting  the  persons 
fittest  to  be  chosen.  But  whether  it  is  better  to  elect  the  bishop 
by  the  voices  of  all  the  members  of  the  congregation,  or  only 
by  those  of  a  few,  or  by  the  advice  of  the  magistrate,  cannot 
be  determined  by  law.  We  must  be  guided  in  this  respect 
by  times  and  circumstances.  Cyprian  strongly  urged,  that 
the  election  is  legitimate  only  when  all  the  members  give 
their   assent.     History    also  shows    that    this  rule  held  good  in 

*  Acts,  xx.  28.  +  Colos.  iv.  17  ;  Philip,  i.  1. 

X  Acts,  xiv.  23  ;  1  Pet.  v.  §  Institute 


372  IDEA    OP    THE    CHURCH.  [CHAP.  V. 

many  places.  But  as  it  is  scarcely  1o  be  expected  that  so  many 
people  would  entertain  the  same  feeling,  it  seems  to  me  desirable 
that  the  magistrate,  or  the  counsel,  or  the  elders,  should  under- 
take the  election  ;  and  that  certain  bishops,  known  for  their  recti- 
tude and  piety,  should  be  called  to  their  aid.'' 

Hence  Calvin,  we  find,  was  willing  to  subject  the  church  to 
the  stale,  and  speaks  not  of  the  clergy  but  of  the  elders,  as 
taking  part  in  the  election.  "But  this,"  he  adds,  "princes  and 
free  states,  who  have  the  interests  of  piety  at  heart,  may  best 
determine  according  to  times  and  circumstances.  What  cere- 
monies and  forms  then  shall  be  observed  at  the  ordination  of 
presbyters  or  elders?  Our  Lord  breathed  upon  the  apostles,  as 
a  symbolic  sign  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  was  given  them.  The 
papists  misuse  this  sign  as  well  as  that  of  anointing.  But  the 
laying  on  of  hands  was  always  practised  by  the  apostles,  when- 
ever they  consecrated  a  minister  of  the  church:  this  usage  was 
borrowed  from  the  Jews,  with  whom  imposition  of  hands  was  a 
sign  of  blessing.  The  apostles  therefore  consecrated  the  minis- 
ter of  God,  when  they  besought  for  him  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  order 
to  show  that  this  came,  not  from  them,  but  from  God's  bless- 
ing. The  appointment  of  deacons  is  apostolic,  and  the  apos- 
tles laid  their  hands  on  them  also.  In  conclusion,  we  re- 
mark, that  the  power  of  the  church  is  founded  on  the  Word  of 
God." 

We  will  now  trace  the  course  of  Calvin's  principles,  according 
to  the  last  revision  of  his  'Institutes;1  and  consider,  1.  The 
church  in  its  essence;  2.  The  rights  of  the  church  ;  and  3.  The 
relation  of  the  church  to  the  state. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  the  fourth  book  of  the  ' Institutes,' 
Calvin  proceeds  from  the  idea  of  the  church,  and  shows  in  the 
first  place  what  it  is  to  believe  in  the  one,  the  universal,  the 
holy  church.  We  believe  in  a  congregation  of  the  elect,  but 
which  is  not  visible,  since  the  elect,  are  perfectly  known  to  God 
alone.  This  church  may  be  called  a  mother,  but  the  holy 
Scripture  describes  it  also  as  that  elect  body  of  men  who  ac- 
knowledge God  and  Christ  upon  earth,  and  reverence  the  sacra- 
ments. There  being  no  means  by  which  wc  may  assure  our- 
selves of  the  faith  of  any  member  of  the  church,  the  Lord  lias 
instituted  a  certain  test  of  Christian  love,  according  to  which 
we  recognize  all  as  brethren,  who,  through  their  confession  of 
faith,  example,  good  life,  and  participation  of  the  sacraments, 
glorify    with    us  the   same  God   and  Christ.     There  must  be  a 


A.D.  1541-49.]      PREACHERS  AND  ELDERS.  373 

general  agreement  in  fundamental  doctrines,  as,  that  there  is 
one  God  ;  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God  and  God  himself,  and 
that  our  salvation  is  founded  on  his  mercy.  But  in  unim- 
portant matters  differences  may  be  allowed  to  prevail,  without 
rendering  separation  necessary,  even  though  those  differences 
should  relate  to  the  manner  in  which  the  sacraments  are  to  be 
administered.  Moral  infirmities  are  also  not  properly  a  cause 
of  separation  ;  and  Donatists,  Cathari,  or  Puritans,  as  Anabap- 
tists also,  ought,  almost  to  be  considered  as  madmen.  It  is  also 
allowable  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  unworthy,  it 
being  every  one's  duty  to  look  simply  into  his  own  heart.  We 
should  regard  the  church  as  our  mother,  and  remain  in  it  till  we 
lay  aside  the  body,  and  become  like  the  angels.  Our  weakness 
prohibits  our  ever  leaving  this  school,  and  we  must  continue 
scholars  as  long  as  we  remain  upon  the  earth. 

God  has  given  us  two  signs  whereby  to  discover  the  visible 
church,  for  where  the  Word  of  the  Lord  is  purely  preached,  and 
the  sacraments  are  honored,  there  is  the  church.  According  to 
Matthew,*  wherever  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  his 
name,  the  Lord  will  be  present. 

In  the  second  chapter,  Calvin  contrasts  the  true  with  the  false 
church.  Where  falsehood  and  fraud  prevail,  there  can  be  no 
church;  this  is  the  condition  of  the  papistical:  where  the 
Word  of  God  is  not,  there  is  no  congregation.  He  here  attacks 
the  papal  government  with  great  force  and  clearness  of  thought, 
and  shows  by  familiar  arguments  that  the  pope  cannot  consti- 
tute unity  ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  Antichrist,  deceit- 
ful, unholy.  Among  others  he  advances  the  following  ideas: 
"The  papists  build  upon  the  long  line  of  Peter's  successors, 
A'hich  however  is  altogether  without  weight,  since  where  Christ 
has  been  forsaken  there  can  be  no  right  to  call  us  schismatics. 
Still  we  do  not  assert  that  the  church  is  wholly  lost  under  the 
papacy." 

The  third  chapter  treats  of  doctors  and  preachers,  of  their 
election  and  office.  Christ  has  set  apostles,  prophets,  evangel- 
ists, preachers  and  doctors,  in  his  church  :  the  last  two  are  for 
all  times;  for  the  rest,  there  are  bishops,  priests  or  elders; 
preachers  and  ministers  have,  according  to  Scripture,  the  same 
office.  All  who  preach  the  Word  are  bishops.  The  elders  of 
the  church,  who  are  chosen  with  the  bishops,  superintend  the 
government  of  the  church,  and  the  exercise  of  censure  and  dis- 

*  Chap,  xviii.  20. 


374  PASTORS    AND    BISHOPS.  [CHAP.  V. 

cipline.  Hence  every  church  had,  at  the  beginning,  a  kind  of 
senate,  which  had  authority  to  punish  offences.  The  deacons 
took  care  of  the  poor:  some,  according  to  St.  Paul,  distributing 
the  alms,  and  others  attending  to  the  sick.  But  in  the  Epistles 
to  the  Romans  and  Corinthians  he  speaks  of  other  offices,  which 
had  no  reference  to  the  performance  of  these  duties  among  the 
poor.* 

With  regard  to  the  call  to  the  ministry,  there  is  an  inner,  as 
in  that  of  St.  Paul,  and  an  outer :  both  are  necessary  for  every 
minister.  The  clergy  ought  to  conduct  the  election  in  union  with 
the  people.  Paul  and  Barnabas  set  forth  elders,  but  the  people 
by  lifting  up  of  hands  indicated  their  approval  of  the  choice."*"  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of  the  Greeks. 

Calvin's  doctrine  of  the  church  is,  on  the  whole,  that  of  the 
Lutheran  church,  differing  essentially  from  it  only  through  the 
principle  of  Presbyterianism,  according  to  which  it  is  denied 
that  the  community  of  the  faithful  is  represented  by  the  clergy 
only.  Thus  the  power  of  excommunication  was  confined,  at  first, 
in  the  Lutheran  church,  to  the  clergy,  and  afterwards  to  the  con- 
sistory. Calvin  never  did  this,  but  gave  the  right  to  the  congre- 
gation consisting  of  both  laity  and  clergy,  which  represented  as 
a  body  the  whole  community. 

According  to  the  principles  on  which  the  constitution  of  his 
church  was  founded,  Calvin  asserted  the  following  claims  in  its 
favor: — 1.  The  church  has  before  all  the  right  to  teach.  The 
exposition  of  Scripture  pertains  to  the  synod.  Scripture  de- 
cides, and  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  belongs  to  the  coun- 
cils:  hence  we  adopt  the  decisions  of  many  councils,  in  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  was  present.  Truth  ever  lives  in  the  church  : 
there,  consequently,  we  find  it  in  a  definite  form.  But  every 
council  is  not  holy,  for  the  Holy  Ghost  may  not  be  present; 
and  thence  it  is  that  we  reject  all  the  Roman  catholic  errors, 
although  established  on  the  decision  of  councils,  because  they 
are  manifestly  opposed  to  holy  Scripture;  as  for  example,  the 
denial  of  the  cup  to  the  laity,  and  the  prohibition  of  marriage 
to  the  clergy.  Preachers  must  not  proclaim  their  own  doctrines, 
but  only  the  Word  of  God.  Councils  establish  unity  of  doctrine 
in  opposition  to  heresy.  The  discipline  of  the  French  church 
therefore,  following  out  this  principle,  allows  the  general  synod 
only  to  alter  the  confession  of  faith. 

Pastors   are  bishops,  and    have  the   right  of  administering  the 

*  Rom.  xii.  1  ;  1  Cor.  xii.  28.  t  Acts,  xiv.  23- 


A.D.  1541-49.]  POWERS    OF    THE    CHURCH.  375 

holy  mysteries  ;  they  govern  the  church  :  their  office  as  pastors 
embraces  the  duty  of  admonition  and  of  the  administration  of 
the  sacraments.  Some  noble  remarks  are  inserted  in  this  part 
of  the  'Institutes,'  respecting  the  duty  of  the  clergy  in  difficult 
circumstances,  and  the  honor  due  to  the  office:  "The  Lord," 
he  says,  "declares  to  all,  whom  He  has  placed  as  watchmen  in 
his  church,  that  if  a  soul  be  lost  through  their  sin,  He  will  re- 
quire its  life  at  their  hands."  The  right  of  election  pertains  to 
the  congregation,  but  under  the  guidance  of  the  clergy.  The 
latter  cannot  choose  others  to  share  their  ministry  without  the 
approbation  of  the  people  and  the  superintendents,  but  neither 
can  the  superintendents  elect  ministers  without  the  consent  of 
the  clergy,  nor  exercise  the  power  of  deprivation  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  congregation. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  the  church  has  the  right  to  determine 
church  ordinances  ;  to  settle  the  order  of  divine  service  and  cere- 
monies, according  to  Scripture,  and  therefore  to  abolish  catholic 
usages.  But  the  church  has  not  the  right  to  oppress  the  con- 
science by  its  laws  ;  God's  Word  stands  higher  than  all.  The 
conscience  of  man  is  superior  both  to  civil  and  to  church  law. 
The  Lord  is  our  only  lawgiver.  Some  remarks  are  here  added  on 
the  external  worship  of  God.  Ceremonies  cannot  be  dispensed 
with  in  the  church,  but  only  for  the  sake  of  order. 

The  great  simplicity  of  the  reformed  service  is  not  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  Calvin  only:  he  found  it  already  existing,  but  he  im- 
proved and  confirmed  it.  He  is  commonly  accused  of  forget- 
ting, through  his  own  intellectual  character,  the  wants  of  the 
human  heart;  it  not  being  borne  in  mind  that  Zwingli  had 
some  time  before  introduced  a  still  severer  simplicity,  but  de- 
served as  little  as  Calvin  the  accusation  of  Maimburg,  that  "he 
left  only  the  skeleton  of  religion  remaining."  Far  from  this, 
the  Christian  religion  appears  in  all  its  forms  sublime  and  vital 
to  the  vital  Christian.  Farel,  who  had  the  ardent  feelings  of 
the  south,  introduced  the  same  simplicity  into  Geneva.  Even 
Luther  warned  people  against  "groanings  and  tonings.  and 
boastful  ornaments."*  Calvin  expresses  his  love  of  simplicity 
in  one  of  the  letters  to  Farel,  already  quoted,  where  he  says, 
"I  told  Melancthon  to  his  face  that  I  was  displeased  with  the 
multiplicity  of  ceremonies  which  Luther  suffered  to  exist.  But 
Melancthon  answered,  that  it  was  necessary  in  Saxony  to  yield 
somewhat  to  the  canonists;   and  that  Luther  himself  liked  the 

*  Bretschneider's  Ref.  Aim.  p.  93. 


376  POWERS    OF    THE    CHURCH.  [CHAP.  V. 

ceremonies  which  they  were  obliged  to  retain,  as  little  as  he  did 
the  flatness  of  the  Swiss  churches." 

But  Luther  was  not,  like  Calvin,  surrounded  by  catholics,  or 
by  people  of  the  south,  so  inclined  to  depend  upon  outward  and 
superstitious  practices.  Calvin's  polemical  writings,  in  which 
he  attacks  those  who  thought  it  lawful  to  attend  mass  while  they 
were  evangelical  in  heart,  are  well  known.  The  De  Vltandis 
Superstitionibus  has  been  already  quoted.  Some  others  were 
against  the  Nicomedites  ;  and  there  is  also  the  excellent  work, 
De  Vera  Dccleslcc  Reformandce  Ratione.  His  polemical  essays 
were  especially  directed  against  the  Roman  catholic  error,  that 
true  piety  consists  in  the  observance  of  outward  forms.  This 
death-inllicting  principle  he  sought  to  uproot,  and  replace  by  one 
imbued  with  vitality.  He  clearly  saw  however  that  a  settled  form 
of  worship  was  necessary  as  a  bond  of  union.  In  the  'Institutes,' 
in  which  he  explains  his  sentiments  on  this  subject,  he  speaks 
lightly  of  the  papacy  as  a  species  of  Judaism.  He  would  prob- 
ably however  have  readily  allowed  a  significant,  noble  ceremonial, 
in  other  limes  and  under  other  circumstances. 

3.  In  the  eleventh  chapter  Calvin  treats  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  church.  It  is  a  spiritual  government  and  order,  having  the 
same  relation  to  the  spiritual,  which  the  state  has  to  the  tem- 
poral, constitution,  and  taking  no  part  therefore  in  worldly 
affairs.  The  power  of  the  keys  has  been  given  to  the  church, 
and  this  is  indicated  by  its  right  to  teach  and  to  preach,  to  pro- 
claim forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  promise  of  eternal  life,  and  to 
excommunicate.  The  church  binds  and  looses  by  means  of  dis- 
cipline: its  jurisdiction  consecmently  is  not  that  of  the  sword; 
it  must  employ  no  kind  of  temporal  punishment,  and  we  accord- 
ingly find  that  the  bishops  of  the  early  church  never  exercised 
their  authority  by  inflicting  imprisonment,  fines,  or  other  such 
punishments,  but  only  by  admonishing  according  to  God's 
Word.  Censures  were  never  to  proceed  from  an  individual,  but 
from  a  lawful  assembly.*  The  church  recognizes  no  other  kind 
of  punishment  than  exclusion  from  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  is 
to  be  understood  only  in  the  apostolical,  and  not  in  the  papistical, 
sense,  and  is  not  to  be  attended  by  either  death  or  imprison- 
ment. Without  the  right  of  excommunication,  tin'  chnrch  could 
not  preserve  its  purity,  but  it  is  not  with  worldly  force  the  sin- 
ner is  to  be  constrained  ;  excommunication  is  a  spiritual  punish- 
ment. 

*  Ep.  ad  Liser.  167. 


a.d.  1541-49.]     calvin's  views  of  excommunication.       377 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  in  the  history  of  the  church,  that 
the  same  reformers  who  continually  protested  against  the  merit 
of  works,  and  ascribed  all  to  the  grace  of  God,  insisted  most 
strongly  upon  the  necessity  of  holiness  of  life.  Luther  also 
argued  in  favor  of  discipline  and  excommunication,  but  he  had 
reasons,  as  we  shall  see.  for  not  introducing  them.  He  acknowl- 
edges that  the  Bohemian  brothers  far  surpassed  him  in  this  re- 
spect, and  before  his  death  had  the  sorrow  to  see  licentiousness 
prevailing  in  his  church,  without  any  means  of  repressing  it. 
Calvin  too  praises  the  Bohemian  brethren.  CEcolampadius  was 
the  first  and  the  only  reformer  before  Calvin,  who  opposed,  in 
Basel,  the  influence  of  gross  errors  by  excommunication  ;  but 
the  other  preachers  in  that  city,  and  Zwingli  especially,  refused 
to  recognize  the  practice,  because  the  church  was  sufficiently 
protected,  they  considered,  by  a  government  consisting  of  faithful 
men. 

Calvin  describes  his  views  as  to  the  object  of  excommunica- 
tion in  the  following  excellent  manner,  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of 
the  fourth  book  of  the  '  Institutes  :' — 

"No  family  can  exist  without  order,  much  less  the  church. 
As  the  doctrine  of  Christ  is  the  soul  of  the  church,  so  is  disci- 
pline the  nerves  which  bind  the  members  together,  and  preserve 
each  in  its  proper  place.  What  would  be  the  consequence  if 
every  one  might  live  as  he  pleased,  without  censure?  Disci- 
pline is  either  a  bridle  or  a  spur,  or  a  father's  rod.  The  founda- 
tion-stone of  all  discipline  is  admonition,  and  this  is  the  business 
of  the  preachers  and  elders.  If  any  one  refuses  to  take  heed  to 
such  admonition,  given  for  the  second  lime,  and  before  three 
witnesses,  he  is  then,  according  to  the  command  of  Jesus,  to  be 
consigned  to  the  power  of  the  church,*  in  order  to  be  publicly 
warned  and  corrected.  If  this  produce  no  effect,  he  is  then  to 
be  put  out  of  the  church,  and  separated  from  the  communion  of 
the  faithful.  But  if  any  crime  has  been  committed,  then  stronger 
measures  must  be  employed,  as  Paul  excommunicated  the  of- 
fender according  to  God's  command.!  Place  however  may  be 
allowed  for  repentance.!:  Order  must  be  preserved  in  the 
church  by  severity  :  neglect  of  punishment  destroys  it.  Augus- 
tine indeed  has  said  nothing  about  a  public  excommunication, 
but  this  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fanaticism  which  then 
prevailed   in  Africa,   and    threatened   to   overwhelm   the    church. 

*  Matt,  xviii.  15-17.  +  1  Cor.  v.  4. 

%  Matt.  xvi.  19. 


378  calvin's  views  of  excommunication,     [chap.  v. 

He  wished  to  correct  the  evil  by  gentle  mean?.*  When  the 
people  however  profane  the  sacraments,  the  clergy  must  proceed 
with  the  greatest  severity.  The  grand  object  of  discipline  is  to 
preserve  the  Lord's  Supper  from  profanation.  Chrysostom  re- 
proves the  priests  who  were  unwilling  to  keep  the  rich,  though 
offenders,  from  the  holy  table.  'This  blood,'  he  says,  'will  be 
required  at  your  hands.  If  you  fear  men,  God  will  make  a  mock 
of  you  ;  whereas  if  you  fear  God,  even  men  will  honor  you. 
Kings  terrify  me  not.  We  have  here  a  mightier  power.  I 
would  rather  consign  my  body  to  death,  and  let  my  blood  be 
poured  out,  than  suffer  such  a  misunion.'  The  other  end  of 
excommunication  is,  that  the  good  should  not  be  destroyed  with 
the  wicked ;  the  third,  that  the  wicked  should  be  moved  to  re- 
pentance. In  the  primitive  church  even  the  emperors  subjected 
themselves  to  the  corrective  voice  of  the  church. 

"Excommunication  existed  from  the  beginning,  and  so  long 
as  it  was  in  use  afforded  a  trace  of  the  original  government  of 
the  church.  When  any  had  given  cause  of  offence,  he  was  com- 
manded to  abstain  from  the  sacrament,  to  humble  himself  be- 
fore God,  and  to  give  proof  of  his  repentance.  Certain  solemn 
ceremonies  were  deemed  necessary  as  signs  of  his  restoration. 
He  was  received  back  into  the  church  by  laying  on  of  hands, 
which  Cyprian  calls,  '  the  peace  of  the  church.'  The  bishop  and 
the  clergy  reconciled  the  sinner  to  the  church,  but  not  without  the 
consent  of  the  people,  or  of  the  whole  community. 

"Theodosius.  when  excommunicated  by  Ambrose  because  he 
had  shed  innocent  blood  at  Thessalonica,  laid  aside  all  his  im- 
perial ornaments,  and  lamented  his  sin  openly  in  the  presence  of 
the  whole  church  ;  and  although  he  had  been  betrayed  into  com- 
mitting the  offence  by  the  deceitful  advice  of  some  wicked  men, 
yet  he  prayed  for  forgiveness  with  many  sighs  and  tears.  Great 
kings  must  humble  themselves  before  the  Lord  Christ,  the  King 
of  kings,  and  are  not  to  consider  it  evil  if  the  church  judge 
them.  They  hear  only  that  which  flatters  them  in  their  palaces  ; 
it  is  therefore  the  more  necessary  for  them  than  for  others  to  be 
admonished  of  God,  by  the  mouth  of  his  ministers.  Yea,  they 
must  even  wish  the  preachers  not  to  spare  them,  that  they  may 
he  spared  by  God.  'What  is  more  honorable,'  said  Ambrose 
to  i he  emperor,  '  than  to  be  called  a  son  of  the  church?  A  good 
emperor  lives  in  the  church,  not  above  the  church.' 

"Excommunication  is  proper,  if  it  take  place  according  to  St. 

*  Epis.  381. 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  views  of  excommunication.  379 

Paul's  rule,  by  which  it  is  inflicted,  not  by  the  presbyters  only, 
but  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  people,  yet  not  so  as 
to  make  them  masters  of  the  proceeding,  but  witnesses,  taking 
heed  that  nothing  be  done  in  wrath.  The  forms  followed  must 
naturally  be  earnest  and  solemn,  that  every  one  may  know  that 
Christ  is  present. 

"It  is  necessary  however  that  the  severity  of  the  church 
should  be  always  tempered  with  mildness,  lest,  as  the  apostle 
says,  the  person  punished  'should  be  swallowed  up  with  over- 
much sorrow.'*  Were  this  precaution  not  attended  to,  the 
medicine  might  be  turned  into  poison,  and  no  true  repentance 
would  be  produced.  No  excuse  can  be  offered  for  the  excessive 
severity  of  the  ancient  church,  which,  while  it  was  contrary  to 
the  command  of  Christ,  was  full  of  peril  to  the  offender.  The 
time  of  his  exclusion  from  the  communion  extended  from  three 
to  seven  years,  and  in  some  cases  to  the  end  of  life.  What  could 
result  therefrom  but  gross  hypocrisy  or  absolute  despair?  So 
also,  that  the  offender  who  had  again  fallen,  after  repentance, 
should  never  be  re-admitted  into  the  church,  was  neither  useful 
nor  reasonable.  Any  one  who  properly  considers  the  subject 
will  allow,  that  in  this  respect  the  early  discipline  was  wanting 
in  wisdom.  I  rather  blame  the  system  itself  than  those  who 
were  concerned  about  it,  many  of  them  not  approving  of  such 
severity.  Cyprian  declares  that  it  was  not  by  his  own  inclina- 
tion he  acted  so  sternly.  'Our  long-suffering,  our  patience  and 
clemency,  are  proffered  to  all  who  are  prepared  to  acknowledge 
them.  I  should  wish  all  to  return  to  the  church;  I  should  wish 
all  our  comrades  to  return  to  the  camp  of  Christ ;  I  am  ready 
to  pardon  many  failings,  even  those  committed  against  God  ; 
and  I  almost  sin  myself  by  forgiving  sins  more  easily  than  I 
ought.  I  affectionately  embrace  all  who  come  to  me  with  true 
repentance,  and  humbly  acknowledge  all  their  offences.'  Chry- 
sostom,  though  more  severe,  says,  '  God  being  so  merciful,  how 
dare  his  servant  be  so  stern  ?'  We  know  also  how  mildly  Au- 
gustine proceeded  against  the  Donatists,  and  that  he  even  pro- 
cured for  some,  whose  repentance  was  deep  and  apparent,  the 
episcopal  dignity. 

"  The  excommunicated  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  lost,  but 
should  be  prayed  for  by  the  faithful.  Never  ought  those  to  be 
judged  as  deserving  of  eternal  death,  who  are  still  in  the  hands 
of  God.     When  Christ  says,  that  what  we  bind  on  earth  shall 

*  2  Cor.  ii.  7. 


380  RIGHTS    OP    THE    CHURCH    AND    STATE.        [CHAP.  V. 

be  bound  in  heaven,  it  is  clear  that  He  limits  our  authority  in 
respect  to  church  censures,  by  which  the  excommunicated  are 
not  to  be  consigned  to  eternal  death,  but  only  to  be  warned  that 
eternal  condemnation  awaits  them  unless  they  repent.  A  great 
difference  exists  between  excommunication  and  anathema  :  the 
latter  should  rarely,  if  ever,  be  pronounced  ;  it  takes  from  a  man 
all  hopes  of  forgiveness,  and  gives  him  up  to  Satan.  But  ex- 
clusion from  the  Lord's  table  affects  his  character  and  state, 
rather  than  his  person  ;  and  even  though  he  should  himself  be 
punished,  yet  while  his  condemnation  is  pronounced,  the  way  to 
eternal  life  is  still  set  before  him.  And  though  we  are  cautioned 
against  having  much  intercourse  with  the  excommunicated,  yet 
ought  we,  by  our  admonitions,  gentleness  and  prayers,  to  seek  in 
every  way  to  bring  them  back  to  holiness.  If  we  fail  to  use  for- 
bearance, there  is  reason  to  fear  that  we  may  convert  discipline 
into  torture,  and  instead  of  being  censors  may  become  savage 
executioners. 

"Augustine  remarks,  that  preachers,  if  they  cannot  correct 
all  that  is  bad,  must  not  on  that  account  separate  themselves 
from  the  church.  '  True  piety,  in  its  endeavors  to  preserve 
order  in  the  church,  will  establish  itself  on  the  unity  of  the 
spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace.'  This  is  what  the  apostle  urged  ;* 
and  if  another  course  be  taken  to  employ  punishment  as  a  means 
of  good,  it  is  not  only  superfluous  but  dangerous,  and  therefore 
no  more  a  means.  Let  a  man  consider  this  carefully,  ami  he  will 
never  fail  to  employ  the  proper  severities  of  discipline,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  will  preserve  the  unity  of  the  church,  and  not 
allow  the  bond  of  peace  to  be  broken  by  censures  carried  to  ex- 
cess. Let  us  recollect  the  words  of  the  Lord,  in  which  he  warns 
us  to  take  heed,  lest  while  we  pluck  up  the  tares  we  root  up  the 
wheat  also."t 

4.  Calvin  again  assigns  to  the  state  its  proper  rights,  and  sub- 
jects even  the  church  to  its  power.  Far  from  opposing  himself 
to  civil  government,  he  insists,  that  the  influence  of  the  clergy 
upon  public  morals  ought  to  be  directed  to  its  support.  As 
there  are  two  species  of  government  among  men.  the  one  for  the 
soul  and  eternal  life,  the  other  for  the  outward  man.  so  must  there 
also  be  two  kinds  of  government  in  the  world,  a  spiritual  and  a 
civil,  which  ought  never  to  be  confounded.  Outward  servitude 
inflicts  no  shame  whatever  on  Christian  freedom.  The  church 
should  develop  itself  in   harmony  with  the  state.     The  political 

*  Ephes.  iv.  2,  3.  t  Ma*4-  xiii   --• 


A.D.  1541-49.]  FORMS    OF    GOVERNMENT.  381 

administration  exists  only  for  the  defence  of  the  church,  and  is 
as  necessary  for  the  support  of  human  weakness  as  bread,  water, 
the  air  or  the  sun.  But  it  is  not  instituted  for  the  purpose  only 
of  defending  outward  interests,  the  freedom  and  fortunes  of 
mankind,  but  also  to  prevent  idolatry,  sacrilege,  and  offences 
from  taking  root  among  the  people.  The  civil  power  however 
has  not  the  right  to  give  laws  concerning  religion  and  divine 
worship,  but  is  to  take  care  that  the  true  religion,  as  revealed  in 
the  Gospel,  is  neither  insulted  nor  injured.  The  first  duty  of  a 
government  is  to  uphold  the  faith  and  to  defend  the  laws  of  the 
two  tables,  but  it  is  only  to  punish  the  wicked  and  protect  the 
good  that  power  is  given  it.  Calvin  denies  the  right  of  govern- 
ments, or  princes,  to  interfere  with  matters  purely  ecclesiastical. 
As  no  worldly  power  belongs  to  the  church, — for  "  my  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world,''  says  the  Lord,-— so  no  spiritual  power  be- 
longs to  princes  :  they  are  both  loo  distinct  to  be  united  in  one 
person,  even  under  a  theocracy.  Moses  resigned  the  priesthood 
to  Aaron,  and  the  union  of  the  two  did  not  exist  in  the  primitive 
church  :  still  less  is  it  proper  for  princes  to  interfere  with  doctrine. 
In  this  Calvin  agrees  with  Luther. 

There  are  three  forms  of  government,  the  monarchical,  aris- 
tocratical,  and  democratical.  All  three  forms  are  good.  Cal- 
vin however  chose  the  second,  and  asserted  that  an  aristocracy 
afforded  the  surest  means  of  rendering  a  state  happy;  the  power 
of  individuals  being  limited  by  the  laws.  The  perverseness  and 
folly  of  mankind,  he  thought,  rendered  an  aristocracy  in  which 
many  govern,  the  safest  and  most  tolerable,  since  while  there 
are  mutual  warnings  and  helps,  so  if  one  strives  to  exalt  himself 
above  another,  the  rest  discourage  his  ambition,  and  become  his 
masters  and  judges.  Experience  has  always  proved  this,  and 
God  himself  gave  his  people  an  aristocratic  form  of  government, 
when  intending  to  preserve  them  in  happiness  and  security  till 
the  reign  of  David.  ':  I  praise  those."  adds  Calvin.  "  who  can 
live  contented  under  such  a  government,  and  they  ought  to  be 
supported  as  much  as  possible.  It  is  also  the  duty  of  magis- 
trates to  defend  freedom  by  every  means  in  their  power,  and 
being  negligent  thereof,  they  ought  to  be  accounted  traitors. 
But  if  those  who  live  under  the  government  of  a  king  suppose 
that  it  is  lawful  to  create  insurrections,  they  are  chargeable  both 
with  folly  and  wickedness."  He  further  expresses  himself,  and 
that  constantly,  against  every  species  of  resistance  to  lawful  au- 
thority.    Thus  he  says  to  the  reformers  at  Aix,  that  they  must 


382  ECCLESIASTICAL    PENALTIES.  [CHAP.  V. 

not  rise  against  their  persecutors  ;  and  in  the  chapter  in  which 
he  treats  of  the  clergy,  he  remarks,  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
see  them,  if  imprisoned  for  the  faith,  striving  to  procure  their 
liberty. 

"  If  we  survey  the  whole  world,  we  shall  see  that  all  these 
various  forms  of  government  come  from  God,  and  have  been 
established  by  his  especial  providence.  As  the  elements  are 
kept  in  action  only  through  unequal  degrees  of  power  and  oppo- 
sition, so  is  it  with  the  government  of  states.  Private  persons 
must  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  kings,  but  magistrates  ought  to 
defend  the  rights  of  the  people.  In  old  times  there  were  Ephori, 
tribunes,  Demarchi ;  and  their  place  is  now  supplied  by  the  three 
states  when  legally  assembled.  But  before  all  things  God  must 
be  obeyed  rather  than  man,  and  governments  must  submit  them- 
selves to  his  Word." 

Calvin  gives  a  full  account  of  his  system  of  discipline  in  the 
eighth  chapter,  De  Fide,  of  the  second  edition  of  the  'Institutes.' 
I  will  endeavor  to  answer,  in  some  degree,  the  difficult  ques- 
tion, how  the  temporal  state  ought  to  help  the  church  against 
sinners,  or  how  the  rights  and  relations  of  the  state  and  the 
church  may  be  respectively  protected.  Nothing  is  said  in  refer- 
ence to  the  punishment  of  heretics,  but  the  mutual  right  of  the 
magistrate  and  the  church  to  punish  is  plainly  acknowledged, 
"  In  corrigendis  vilils  mutiue  debent  esse  opera"  but  sinners 
ought  not  to  be  given  up  by  the  church  to  the  state.  The  follow- 
ing remarks  on  the  relation  of  the  ecclesiastical  to  the  civil  power, 
from  the  second  edition,  are  also  found  almost  literally  repeated 
in  the  last  edition  of  the  '  Institutes  :'* — 

"The  church  has  not  the  right  of  the  sword  to  punish  or  to 
restrain  :  it  has  not  the  power  to  compel,  or  to  inflict  imprison- 
ment or  other  penalties  proper  to  the  state.  Further,  it  does 
not  pretend  to  punish  the  sinner  against  his  will.  Hence  arises 
an  altogether  different  relation,  since  nothing  can  properly  be 
assumed  by  the  church  which  belongs  to  the  state,  nor  can  the 
state  accomplish  that  which  is  wrought  by  the  church.  This 
will  be  rendered  clearer  by  an  example  :  a  drunkard  in  a  well- 
ordered  state  will  be  thrown  into  prison.  Some  similar  or  still 
heavier  punishment  will  attend  debauchery.  The  laws,  the 
state,  and  the  ordinary  demands  of  justice  are  thus  satisfied. 
But  it  may  happen  that  the  offender  afford  no  sign  of  repent- 
ance ;  nay,  that  he  even  exhibit  opposition  and  defiance.     Shall 

*  Cap.  xi.  3,  4. 


A.D.  1541-49.]         ECCLESIASTICAL    PENALTIES.  383 

the  church  then  yield?  Can  it  allow  such  men  to  approach  the 
table  of  the  Lord  without  doing  dishonor  to  Christ,  and  inflict- 
ing injury  on  his  holy  ordinance?  As  the  state  must  preserve 
the  purity  of  the  church  by  punishments  and  other  modes  of 
interference,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  must  the  servant  of  the  Word 
support  the  state  by  suppressing  sin  ;  and  hence  there  will  be 
a  united  effort  to  the  same  end,  each  rendering  the  other  aid, 
and  not  increasing  its  difficulties.  And  certainly  he  who  gives 
due  weight  to  the  words  of  Christ,  which  ascribe  a  certain  power 
to  the  church,  will  easily  see  that  they  assign  it  a  constant  and 
durable,  and  not  a  mere  temporal  order:  it  is  not  allowed,  that 
is,  to  commit  those  who  refuse  to  hear  our  admonition  to  the 
civil  power,  which  must  have  been  the  case  had  it  been  permitted 
to  take  the  place  of  the  church.  Christ  has  given  no  new  com- 
mand in  this  respect,  but  confirmed  that  which  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  old  church  of  his  people:  hence  he  showed  that 
it  could  not  dispense  with  the  right  of  spiritual  judgment,  which 
existed  from  the  beginning.  And  all  times  have  agreed  in  this  ; 
for  when  the  emperors  and  governments  began  to  give  honor 
to  Christ,  this  right  of  spiritual  judgment  was  in  no  case  for- 
feited. Those  therefore  who,  to  enrich  the  state,  would  deprive 
the  church  of  this  power,  not  only  falsify  the  meaning  of  Christ's 
words,  but  make  all  the  holy  bishops,  who  were  so  numerous 
from  the  apostolic  times,  guilty  of  a  great  crime, — representing 
them  as  assuming  th'e  office  and  authority  of  rulers  under  false 
pretences." 

In  order  to  form  some  idea  of  the  church  government  insti- 
tuted at  Geneva,  the  reader  may  peruse  the  following  account, 
which  Calvin  gives  in  a  letter,  of  the  regulations  which  had  been 
approved  of  by  the  Genevese,  and  which  he  recommends  to  the 
people  of  Zurich.  He  had  laid  a  statement  of  the  main  princi- 
ple of  his  discipline  before  the  synod  of  Zurich  in  1538.  His 
whole  conduct  proves  his  anxious  desire  to  keep  himself  free  from 
the  state,  and  hence  his  refusal  to  administer  the  communion  to 
the  excited  and  enraged  city. 

The  three  following  articles  may  be  regarded  as  occupying  the 
first  rank  in  his  system  of  church  discipline : — 

"The  city  (Geneva)  must  be  divided  into  certain  parishes, 
there  always  being  danger  of  confusion  when  the  people  have 
not  their  own  minister,  and  when  the  minister  does  not  know 
his  proper  charge.  A  sufficient  number  of  clergy  must  be 
chosen    to   accomplish  this  purpose.      The  right  use  of  excom- 


3S4  calvin's  system    of  discipline.  [chap.  v. 

municalion  must  be  restored  as  before  ordered  ;  tbat  is,  respect- 
able and  prudent  men  must  be  selected  from  eacb  quarter  of  tbe 
city,  to  join  wiili  us  in  watching  over  tbe  proper  mode  of  its  in- 
fliction. A  becoming  order  must  be  observed  in  tbe  call  of  tbe 
clergy,  tbat  the  laying  on  of  bands,  wbieh  belongs  only  to  tbe 
clergy,  may  not  be  taken  away  by  tbe  power  of  tbe  magistrates, 
as  ours  bave  more  than  once  attempted  to  do."  Calvin  also 
again  expresses  his  anxious  desire  to  have  tbe  Lord's  Supper  ad- 
ministered every  month. 

We  have  here  to  remark  :  1.  That  he  subjected  the  chinch  to 
tbe  state,  for  he  allowed  tbe  council  to  choose  the  elders  of  the 
church,  foreseeing,  probably,  that  excommunication  would  only 
be  practicable  if  left  to  be  administered  by  laymen  chosen  by  the 
slate;  and  2.  That  he  insisted,  on  the  contrary,  upon  the  right 
of  the  clergy  only  to  exercise  the  spiritual  function  of  ordaining 
preachers. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  we  find  Viret  making  the  experi- 
ment already  alluded  to,  of  establishing  a  consistory;  and  many 
commands  of  the  council,  even  before  Calvin's  return,  indicate 
great  earnestness  in  reference  to  discipline. 

The  first  historical  account  of  the  so-named  'Ordonnances 
Ecclesiastiques'  occurs  in  the  year  1541,  when  the  council  re- 
called Calvin.  I  extract  it  from  one  of  the  oldest  printed  copies 
of  the  year  1575.  They  define  the  duties  of  the  four  classes  of 
ecclesiastical  persons,  as  known  also  in  die  primitive  church  ; 
namely,  preachers,  doctors  or  teachers,  elders,  and  deacons. 

1.  The  choice  of  preachers  depends,  in  the  first  instance,  on 
the  clergy,  who  elect  those  to  be  presented  ;  in  the  second  place, 
on  the  council,  which  must  approve  and  confirm  the  election ; 
and  in  the  third  place,  on  the  congregation,  who,  if  they  have 
anything  to  object,  must  make  it  known  to  the  syndics,  that  all 
may  be  satisfied  with  the  choice.  Every  minister  must  swear, 
on  his  election,  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  state  and  of  the  church, 
but  not  in  such  a  manner  as  to  limit  his  freedom  in  preaching 
the  Gospel. 

To  uphold  the  purity  of  the  clergy,  whether  of  tbe  city  or  the 
country,  a  weekly  assembly  was  held,  and  every  minister  was  to 
discourse,  in  his  turn,  on  tbe  portion  of  Script 1 1 rr  appointed  for 
the  day.  After  die  sermon  tbe  ministers  were  to  withdraw  and 
make  their  remarks,  especially  on  the  preacher  If  any  contro- 
y.t-v  arose  on  matters  of  doctrine,  they  were  to  employ  their 
best  endeavors  to  preserve  union;  and   if  they  failed   in   this,  the 


a. d.  1541-49.]    calvin's  system  of  discipline.  385 

church  elders  were  to  give  their  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  strive 
to  restore  peace.  Should  this  also  prove  of  no  avail,  the  council 
was  to  decide. 

The  elders  were  to  share  with  the  ministers  in  watching  over 
the  conduct  and  education  of  the  clergy;  but  the  council  was  (o 
determine  disputes  and  punish  offenders.  The  clergy  were  mu- 
tually to  censure  each  other  before  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  The  clergy  moreover  were  to  remain  subject  to  the 
legal  tribunals.  Children  were  to  be  baptized  in  the  church,  and 
by  the  clergy  only.  The  illegitimate  were  to  be  especially  noted, 
that  the  proper  tribunal  might  have  knowledge  of  them.  Mar- 
riages might  be  celebrated  any  day,  after  notice  had  been  given 
three  times,  except  when  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered: 
this  was  to  be  as  often  as  possible,  but  four  times  were  fixed  for 
its  celebration.  The  preachers  were  to  give  the  bread,  the  elders 
and  deacons  the  cup,  but  only  in  the  church.  The  communicant 
was  previously  to  attend  his  minister,  to  give  an  account  of  his 
faith.  Children  were  to  be  instructed  in  the  Catechism,  and  re- 
peat their  creed.  The  elders  were  to  see  that  this  was  done. 
Every  year,  before  Easter,  a  visitation  from  house  to  house  was 
to  take  place.  The  preacher,  with  one  of  the  elders,  was  then  to 
examine  the  inhabitants  respecting  their  faith.  The  sick  were  to 
send  for  a  clergyman,  and  the  prisons  were  to  be  visited  by  a 
minister  with  a  member  of  the  council. 

2.  With  regard  to  the  doctors  of  the  church,  they  were  to  read 
publicly  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  to  teach  the  ancient 
languages.     For  this  purpose  a  gymnasium  was  established. 

3.  The  church  elders  were  to  watch  over  the  morals  of  all. 
They  were  chosen  by  the  lesser  council,  and  confirmed  by  the 
preachers, — two  out  of  the  lesser  council,  and  ten  out  of  that  of 
the  sixty,  or  two  hundred.  The  lesser  council  ratified  the  choice, 
but  the  congregation  had  a  veto.  They  were  elected  every  year, 
but  might  continue  in  office  a  longer  period. 

The  consistory,  which  was  formed  of  elders  and  preachers, 
assembled  every  Thursday.  A  messenger  of  the  civil  court  sum- 
moned the  persons  whose  presence  was  required  before  it.  As 
it  had  no  power  of  its  own.  the  council  interfered  if  any  one 
despised  its  commands.  Secret  sins  and  offences  were  censured 
in  secret,  and  no  one  was  called  before  it  whose  case  demanded 
signal  chastisement.  If  they  whom  it  censured  neglected  its 
warnings,  they  were  excluded  from  the  Lord's  table.  For  open 
offences,  the  punishment,   after  a  second   censure,   was  excom- 

vol.  i. — 25 


38G  Till.   QOJfSIBTOBT.  [chap.  V. 

iiiunicaion  Bvil-doera  were  suspended.  The  right  of  excom- 
municalion  always  belonged  to  the  cousistory.  If  anyone  op- 
I  ,!  ilir  true  doctrine,  and  refused  to  be  corrected,  he  was 
Buspi  nd<  d,  and  the  government  was  informed  of  the  case.  Should 
;iu\  on<  the  sacrament,  and  persevere  for  half  a  year  in 

ootempt  of  it  after  being  censured,  he  was  to  appear  before 
ili.-  council,  and  be  sentenced  to  banishment  for  a  year.  But 
vtbiiifi  was  i"  be  done  with  moderation  :  censures  were  to  be 
irded  in  the  light  of  medicines.  The  excommunicated,  if  they 
did  not  improve,  were  to  be  brought  publicly  before  the  congre- 
gation, it  being  unlawful  for  any  one,  according  to  the  com- 
niaiiil  of  Scripture,  to  hold  intercourse  with  an  excommunicated 
person. 

istory  was  never  to  assume  any  of  the  rights  of  the 
civil  powi  i.  If  the  infliction  of  punishment  seemed  necessary  to 
it,  it  was  to  lay  the  circumstances  before  the  government,  it  be- 
longing unto  God  to  determine  the  powers  of  both. 

All  causes  relating  to  marriage  were  to  be  tried  before  the 
consistory  :  it  was  to  endeavor  to  reconcile  the  parties.  If  a 
judicial  sentence  was  necessary,  the  affair  was  to  be  referred  to 
tin-  council. 

I     IH'   '!     cons  were  divided  into  two  classes.     1.  They  were 
t"  administer  the  alms  regularly  collected.     2.  They  were  to  take 
"I  ilp'  Bick,  ami  to  provide  food  for  the  poor.     These  deacons 
elected  in  the  same  manner  as  the  elders. 
Perfect   unity  existed   in   the   state   through   the  intimate  con- 
nection  "l  tin-  consistory  with  the  council.     As  all  offences  against 
religion  were  also  offences  against  the  order  of  the  state,  and 
were  punished    by    the    civil    magistrates,    the   legislator 

ciated  a  double  number  of  lay  judges  with  the  ministers. 
The  latter  consequently  might  at  any  time  be  outvoted,  and 
hence  ..11  danger  ..I'  an  inquisition-like  tribunal  was  effectually 
removed.  Bui  these  elders  had  a  seat  also  in  the  civil  court, 
and  announced  to  it  the  guilty.  The  elder-  therefore  were  the 
bond  of  union  between  the  church  and  state,  and  the  most  im- 
portant mem  asequently,  of  the  theocratic  government. 
ipiritual  judges,  the  elders  inflicted  no  civil  penalties,  but 
tli,\>  determined  what  should  be  heard  before  the  spiritual,  and 
ul'"  before  the  ci\il  tribunal.  A  syndic  p'resided  in  the  spir- 
'■).  1"  the  year  L661,  however,  it  was  declared 
that  it  was  onlj  as  a.  church  elder,  ami  lor  the  affairs  of  the 
church,  thai  he  presided;  nor  did   he,  in  this  instance,  hear  the 


a.d.  1541-49.]        calvin's  church  system.  387 

wand  of  the  syndic.  The  elders  were  chosen  from  the  council, 
and  their  election  was  confirmed  by  the  great  council,  the  people 
and  the  preachers ;  so  that  the  church  was  altogether  in  the 
hand  of  the  state,  which  also  appointed  all  the  clergy.  They 
were  re-elected  every  year,  and  their  names  publicly  announced. 
As  they  were  not,  however,  chosen  indiscriminately  from  the  peo- 
ple, but  out  of  the  various  councils,  this  presbyterian  form  of 
government  was  not  pure ;  and  presbyterianism  was  only  known, 
in  all  its  purity,  at  a  later  period  in  France.  The  powers  of  the 
different  orders  were  mixed  together ;  the  state  seized  upon  the 
rights  of  the  church,  and  perverted  them;  and  Calvin  himself 
acknowledged  that  the  form  of  discipline  established,  instead  of 
being  perfect,  was  only  tolerable.  Compelled  by  the  force  of 
circumstances,  he  was  obliged,  as  we  shall  shortly  see,  to  suffer 
several  variations  from  the  pure  idea  of  presbyterianism. 


CHAPTER  VI 

REMARKS    ON    THE     PRINCIPLES    ADOPTED    BY    CALVIN    IN    THE 
FOUNDATION    OF    THE    GENEVESE    CHURCH. 

While  we  cannot  look  without  wonder  at  Calvin,  as  he  sur- 
mounted, step  by  step,  the  accumulated  defences  gathered  round 
the  catholic  church,  so  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  he  was  more 
successful  in  pulling  down  than  in  building  up.  In  theory,  in- 
deed, it  appeared,  that  what  he  undertook,  and  readily  and  nobly 
executed,  must  exhibit  in  every  respect  the  purest  antagonism  to 
Rome.  But  when  we  take  a  nearer  view  of  his  work,  we  find 
that,  willingly  or  not,  he  was  drawn  into  too  entire  an  opposition 
to  the  catholic  church,  while  on  the  other  side  he  retained  some 
of  its  peculiarities.  Three  principles  especially  influenced  him  in 
the  erection  of  his  edifice. 

1.  The  first  was  that  which  all  the  reformers  followed,  namely, 
that  as  the  temporal  state  was  subjected  to  the  ecclesiastical  in 
the  catholic  church,  so,  in  the  protestant,  the  church  must  be 
subordinate  to  the  state. 

2.  That  the  pride  and  ambition  of  the  clergy,  which  discover 
themselves  as  soon  as  they  stand  alone,  and  acquire  power,  as 


388  calvin's  church  system  [chap.  vi. 

history   unhappily   proves,    must    be    subdued   by    a    lay-govern- 
ment. 

3.  That  the  church  must  lead  its  members  to  truth  and  virtue, 
not  by  doctrine  and  example  only,  but  by  a  moral  power,  which 
it  has  received  from  God. 

I.  The  first  principle  which  all  the  reformers  were  obliged  to 
admit,  partly  from  the  conviction  that  it  afforded  the  be.-t  means 
to  bridle  spiritual  tyranny,  and  partly  from  the  influence  exer- 
cised by  the  princes  who  supported  them,  and  who  retook  from 
the  pope  that  of  which  he  had  deprived  them, — this  very  principle 
has  given  occasion  to  endless  abuses  and  shows,  leading  as  it 
does  to  the  servitude  of  the  church,  that  the  reformation  was 
destined  to  be  only  a  passing  work  in  opposition  to  the  hierarchy ; 
and  that  the  pure  church-form  would  not  be  developed,  till  the 
spirit  of  the  Gospel  had  so  pervaded  the  state  as  to  render  it  will- 
ing to  emancipate  the  church. 

Although  Calvin  had  an  exalted  idea  of  the  spiritual  dignity 
of  the  church,  yet  the  state  was  allowed  a  very  injurious  superi- 
ority in  Geneva,  and  interfered  in  many  ways  with  ecclesiastical 
affairs:  it  pronounced,  for  example,  the  final  sentence  on  dog- 
matic questions.  The  power  of  the  synods  altogether  failed  in 
Geneva,  and  this  was  wholly  against  Calvin's  principles.  The 
appointment  of  the  clergy  indeed  must,  under  any  rule,  continue 
with  the  state:  but  they  were  also  paid  by  the  latter  in  Geneva. 
This  was  never  the  case  in  the  Israelitish  state,  in  which  the 
schools  of  the  prophets,  and  the  prophets,  were  independent  of  the 
kings;  and  according  to  the  principles  of  the  primitive  age,  the 
ministers  were  supported  by  the  people. 

The  church  had  no  treasury  in  Geneva,  and  was  not  allowed 
to  administer  its  own  revenues:  this  was  also  opposed  to  Cal- 
vin's views.  All  ecclesiastical  judgments  had  also  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  decision  of  the  council.  When  so  much  was  con- 
ceded, resistance  afterwards  was  vain,  whenever  the  temporal 
power  acted  unjustly,  as  Calvin  himself  discovered.  All  that 
he  preserved  pure  was  the  ordination  of  the  preachers,  and  the 
right  of  excommunication.  Calvin  would  fain  have  taken  no 
pay  from  the  state,  but  from  the  congregation  only,  and  would 
rather  have  sacrificed  his  life  than  let  tin-  state  determine  doc- 
trines. If  the  church  indeed  be  represented  by  the  clergy  only, 
spiritual  pride  must  be  restrained,  and  Berviiity  will  be  tin'  con- 
sequence. On  the  contrary,  when  the  laity  have  a  share  in  the 
representation,  the  pride  of  the  clergy  is  kept  under,  and  there 


a.d.  1541-49.]         calvin's  church  system.  389 

is  no  danger  of  its  being  superseded  by  servility.  It  is  in  France 
only  that  the  synodal  form  of  government,  the  best  and  most 
useful  for  the  church,  has  been  established.  Among  the  perse- 
cuted reformers  of  that  country,  a  protest,  was  naturally  made 
against  the  influence  of  the  stale.  Hence  they  possessed  an  in- 
dependence, and  a  more  correct  feeling  of  the  dignity  of  the 
church  than  that  which  existed  in  the  other  protestant  commu- 
nities, and  the  clergy  often  expressed  themselves  in  the  synod  with 
great  freedom  against  the  state.  The  excellency  of  this  species 
of  government  is  seen  in  this: — 1.  that  it  not  only  secures  a 
pure  opposition  to  Rome,  but  renders  spiritual  tyranny  impos- 
sible ;  2.  that  the  clergy  contend  not  for  their  own  interests 
merely,  but  as  the  representatives  of  the  church  or  congregation, 
and  therefore  feel  protected  against  the  state;  and  3.  because 
Christ  himself  constitutes  the  unity,  and  is  necessarily  the  first 
in  an  assembly  where  all  the  rest  are  only  brethren  and  equals. 
The  history  of  the  French  church  exhibits  the  pure  theocratic 
element  of  the  protestant  system,  the  desire,  that  is,  to  establish 
in  the  name  of  God  and  of  Christ  a  society  bound  together  in  the 
unity  of  faith,  and  laboring,  in  the  midst  of  error  and  idolatry,  to 
enrich  b}^  its  spiritual  energy  the  temporal  state  with  truth  and 
salvation.  Happy  would  it  have  been,  had  Henry  IV.  and  Sully 
not  given  it  a  political  existence,  which  brought  another  strange 
element  into  the  pure  theocracy,  confused  the  several  powers, 
and  led  to  the  dissolution  of  the  church  in  the  times  of  Richelieu 
and  Louis  XIV. 

The  second  principle,  on  the  contrary,  is  altogether  just, 
Christian-like  and  safe,  if  not  carried  to  excess.  Calvin  over- 
threw the  caste  of  the  catholic  clergy.  The  idea  is  deeply  rooted 
in  Christianity  that  every  believer  is  a  priest.  Moses  had  said 
to  the  Israelites,  "Ye  shall  be  tome  a  nation  of  priests  and  a 
holy  people."  And  in  the  primitive  church  all  its  teachers  occu- 
pied the  same  rank,  and  hence  spiritual  despotism  was  impos- 
sible. 

But  we  must  here  remark,  first,  that  the  elders  in  Geneva, 
contrary  to  Calvin's  principle,  were  not  chosen  from  the  congre- 
gation but  from  the  council,  and  through  the  council,  thereby 
constituting  a  regular  aristocracy  as  in  the  state  itself;  and,  sec- 
ondly, that  Calvin  and  his  associates  went  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme ;  since  the  number  of  the  lay  members  by  far  exceeded  that 
of  the  clergy,  so  that  the  latter  could  not  fail  to  find  themselves 
overpowered, — a  source  frequently  of  anarchy.    This  too  free  form 


390  calvin's  church  system.  [chap.  vi. 

of  church  government  was  transplanted  into  Scotland,  and  en- 
couraged the  unquiet  spirit  of  the  presbyterians,  which,  not  being 
counterbalanced  by  a  strong  spiritual  element,  soon  greatly  degen- 
erated, became  guilty  of  violent  excesses,  and  is  probably  to  the 
present  day  the  source  of  that  loose  and  unsettled  state  of  things 
which  renders  union  impossible.  This  seems  to  prove  that  the 
episcopal,  or  some  other  enduring  element,  was  not  sufficiently 
upholden  in  the  Calvinistic  system  ;  and  such  may  be  the  reason 
why  Calvin  always  considered  it  necessary  to  occupy  the  post  of 
perpetual  moderator,  or  president,  of  the  consistorial  assembly, 
thinking  thereby  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  whole. 

The  third  principle  has  somewhat  both  of  truth  and  falsehood. 
It  is  self-evident  that  some  kind  of  church  order  or  government 
is  necessary  ;  but  the  question  is,  how  far  it  may  interfere  with 
social  life.  Discipline  consists  of  two  parts  ;  the  one  respecting 
church  order,  the  other  the  instruction  of  the  members  of  the 
church.  Thus  the  sacraments  must  be  administered,  the  Sabbath 
observed,  and  divine  service  properly  performed  and  reverenced. 
So  too  children  are  to  be  instructed,  and  baptisms  and  marriages 
solemnized  by  ordained  ministers.  But  it  may  be  asked,  shall 
the  church  educate?  Shall  every  member  of  the  church  have  a 
confessor,  to  whom  he  is  bound  to  uncover  his  soul?  The 
reformers  perhaps  might  have  wished  this  to  be  the  case, 
but  Luther  only  established  a  voluntary  confession.  It  was 
asked,  "May  the  church  expel  evil-doers  and  unbelievers  from 
her  communion?"  Calvin  answered,  Yes;  and  established  a 
moral  code,  which  Luther  did  not  do ;  the  former  imitating  the 
zeal  of  the  catholic  church,  and  contradicting  his  own  principles 
by  giving  up  the  offender  to  be  punished  by  the  civil  power,  or 
the  council. 

Thus  he  intruded  into  the  circle  of  social  life,  as  the  govern- 
ment, on  its  part,  was  guilty  of  interfering  with  the  manage- 
ment, and  even  with  the  doctrines  of  the  church.  He  wished 
the  elders  to  urge  the  civil  magistrate  to  restrain  the  impenitent, 
whereby  he  established  a  temporal,  not  a  spiritual  theocracy. 
"They  no  longer  pertain  to  the  church,"  he  said.  This  excited 
Bossuet's  attention  as  a  catholic.  Calvin  departed  probably 
from  the  right  principles  propounded  in  the  Institutes,  only 
because  driven  to  a  different  course  by  the  obstinate  vicioustnss 
of  the  people.  His  spirit  should  be  contemplated  in  his  works, 
rather  than  in  his  doings.  He  has  displayed  his  moral  judg- 
ment so  admirably  in   a   theoretical  point  of  view,  that  no  Chris- 


A.D.  1541-49.]      FRENCH    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  391 

tian  can  find  anything  to  object  to  it.  But  there  were  rocks 
lying  on  the  path  of  the  real  world.  His  ideas  as  a  reformer 
were  better  developed  in  France. 

Such  was  the  number  of  believers  in  that  country,  in  the  year 
1559,  quietly  organized  under  the  presbyterian  form  of  govern- 
ment, that  they  were  able  to  hold  a  general  synod  in  Paris,  and 
exhibited  their  views  of  discipline  in  forty  articles.  In  several 
successive  synods  these  first  principles  were  further  developed, 
till  at  length  the  law-book  of  the  French  church,  the  '  Discipline 
des  Eglises  Reformees  de  France,1  was  perfected.  It  contains,  in 
the  last  edition,  fourteen  chapters  and  222  articles.* 

To  the  rule  thus  established,  the  members  of  the  different 
congregations  scattered  throughout  the  kingdom  submitted  them- 
selves,  and  persons  of  the  highest  rank  admitted  with  profound 
reverence  the  censures  of  the  church.  The  work  written  by 
Larroque  against  the  revilers  of  the  reformation  proves,  by 
various  striking  instances,  how  great  an  effort  was  made  to  har- 
monize this  system  of  discipline  with  the  primitive  rule,  and 
how,  consequently,  it  must  ever  continue  to  serve  as  a  basis  for 
the  rising  church. 

The  first  circumstance  which  claims  attention,  is  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  church  in  relation  to  the  state.  The  church 
governs  itself  by  its  own  deputies,  and  its  independence  is 
founded  on  the  regulation,  that  it  must  itself  provide  for  all  the 
expenses  of  its  government,  pay  all  its  ministers  and  officers, 
and  all  the  charges  arising  from  the  journeys,  rendered  necessary 
by  the  nature  of  its  constitution.  Those  branches  of  the  church 
which  show  an  unwillingness  to  share  the  general  expenses  are 
subjected  to  the  severest  censures,  and  deprived  of  their  minis- 
ters. Thus  it  is  said,  "The  churches  ought  to  understand, 
that  the  ecclesiastical  assemblies  and  conferences,  provincial  and 
national  synods,  are  the  bonds  and  supports  of  concord  and 
union  against  schisms,  heresies  a?nd  other  evils.  In  case  any 
church  should  refuse  to  contribute  to  the  expense  arising  from 
attendance  on  such  assemblies,  it  shall  be  severely  censured,  as 
deserting  the  holy  union  which  ought  to  exist  among  us."  The 
union  and  power  of  the  church  are,  in  fact,  dependent  upon  the 
national   synod,  which   is   yearly    assembled.     A    commissioner 

*  C.  d'Huisseau.  minister  of  Saumur,  first  published  a  complete  edition,  of  the 
'Discipline'  in  1666.  This  was  followed  by  Larroque's  work.  The  synod  of 
Dort  established  a  system  of  discipline  for  the  reformed  church  of  the  Netherlands. 
See  also  Aymon,  Hist,  des  Synodes  de  France,  and  Beza's  Hist.  Eccles.,  liv.  ii. 
pp.  173--185. 


392  FRENCH    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  [CHAP.  VI. 

appointed  by  the  temporal  power  is  present  at  its  meetings,  and 
thus  unites  the  church  with  the  state. 

Unlimited  authority  is  given  to  the  national  synod  ;  it  appoints 
and  removes  preachers,  it  excommunicates  offending  members, 
and  censures  ministers.  It  determines  the  most  difficult  ques- 
tions proposed  to  it  by  the  several  consistories,  whether  tbey 
refer  to  matters  of  conscience,  or  to  the  relation  in  which  the 
church  stands  to  the  catholics.  It  has  the  right  of  exercising  a 
censorship  on  published  works  ;  it  regulates  controversies,  and 
pronounces  judgment  according  to  Scripture  only,  without  refer- 
ence to  the  fathers,  silencing  dogmatic  strifes,  to  preserve  unity, 
which  is  holy.  It  has  the  further  power  of  improving  discipline, 
and  may  even  modify  the  confession  of  faith. 

In  this  national  synod  an  appeal  may  be  made  from  the  deci- 
sions of  the  consistories  and  provincial  synods.  Every  church 
sends  deputies  to  it ;  the  minister  must  always  attend,  with  one 
or  two  lay-presbyters  (anciens) ;  his  mission  would  otherwise  not 
avail.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  consistories,  not  of  the  people,  to 
elect  the  deputies  to  the  synod,  but  they  are  chosen  from  the 
people.  The  government  is  therefore  not  republican,  but  aristo- 
cratic, but  in  such  a  manner  that  no  hierarchical  tendency  is  pos- 
sible. This  is  prevented  by  the  right  of  the  congregations  in  all 
cases  to  pronounce  the  veto.  So  also  the  accounts  taken  of  church 
revenues  are  in  the  hands,  not  of  the  state,  but  of  the  people,  or 
the  congregation.*  Episcopal  power  is  fundamentally  resisted, 
and  its  establishment  rendered  impossible,  the  president  being 
chosen  in  the  national  synod  by  a  plurality  of  votes,  and  only  as 
moderator  of  the  proceedings.  He  opens  the  business  of  the  as- 
sembly, but  is  not  allowed  to  express  his  opinion  till  all  the  other 
members  have  been  heard.  In  every  other  respect  the  most 
perfect  equality  reigns  among  those  present,  according  to  the 
command  of  Christ.  Ministers  and  laymen  occupy  the  same 
place,  and  this  is  the  case  even  in  regard  to  the  right  of  censure. 
The  only  difference  is,  that  a  layman  can  never  be  chosen  presi- 
dent of  the  synod. 

The  consistories  consist  of  preachers  and  laymen,  the  number 
of  the  latter  not  being  fixed,  but  always  greater  than  that  of  the 
former.  They  are  under  the  circle  and  class  synods,  which 
meet  four  times  in  the  year,  and  are  subject  to  the  provincial 
synods,  which  meet  twice  annually  and  are  under  tin.;  national 
synod.  When  the  meeting  of  the  synod  is  over,  all  is  dissolved  ; 
*  Disc.  ch.  iv.  art.  3. 


A.D.  1541-49.]       FRENCH    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  393 

and  then  unhappily  the  middle  point,  the  support  of  unity, 
is  wanting  to  the  whole.  There  then  remains  only  a  single 
province,  charged  with  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  church, 
in  case  the  necessity  should  occur  of  re-assembling  the  national 
synod.* 

This  is  the  weak  side  of  the  synodal  form  of  government ; 
every  consistory,  every  provincial  synod,  stands  isolated,  without 
defence,  without  appeal,  during  this  interval ;  unity  is  thus 
likely  to  be  lost  in  multiplicity  ;  and  as  only  twenty-nine  gene- 
ral synods  have  been  held  in  the  course  of  a  centiwy  and  a  half, 
the  church  has  remained  for  years  together  without  any  point  of 
union.  A  perpetual  moderator  would  have  given  it  more  sta- 
bility and  dignity.  But  in  the  first  synod,  held  in  Paris,  a  pro- 
test was  characteristically  made  against  the  appointment  of  a 
permanent  moderator,  and  in  the  very  first  article  adopted. 
The  aristocratic  principle,  however,  is  held  so  much  the  more 
firmly.  At  the  beginning,  the  congregation,  with  the  consent 
of  the  clergy,  formed  the  first  consistory,  consisting  of  ministers, 
aneiens  and  aneiens  diacres,  the  latter  being  also  members  of  the 
consistory.  These,  however,  being  once  nominated,  have  the 
power  of  re-election  in  themselves.  The  preachers,  for  example, 
are  nominated  by  the  provincial  synods,  which  also  select  the 
students,  ecoliers  proposans,  examine  and  ordain  them.  They 
preach  three  times  before  the  congregation,  which  has  the  veto, 
so  that  republican  violence  is  resisted  on  the  one  side,  the 
preacher  being  only  proposed  to  them  ;  and  on  the  other  hie- 
rarchical tyranny,  since  no  preacher  not  approved  by  the  people 
can  be  obtruded  upon  them.  The  consistory  also  chooses  the 
aneiens  and  the  aneiens  diacres,  and  submits  them  to  the  ap 
proval  of  the  people,  to  be  received  or  rejected.  The  aneiens 
in  the  absence  of  the  ministers,  may  hold  public  prayer  and 
read  sermons  ;  but  the  aneiens  diacres  are  not  permitted  to 
catechize. 

Ministers  are  subject  to  the  censure  of  their  synod,  and  the 
magistrate  may  remind  them  of  their  duty,  by  means  of  the 
synod  or  provincial  synod.  Consistories  have  the  power  of  sus- 
pending offenders  from  the  communion,  and  even  of  excommu- 
nicating them  ;  but  the  sentence  must  be  confirmed  by  the  pro- 
vincial synod.  All  officers  of  the  church,  schoolmasters  and 
singers  included,  must  subscribe  the  confession  of  faith  and  book 
of  discipline,  which  two  main  pillars,  the  law  that  is,  and  the 
*  Cap.  be.  art.  1,7,  11. 


394  PRACTICE    OF    EXCOMMUNICATO!*.  [(  I1AP.   VI. 

expression  of  recognized  truth,  form  the  grand  supports  of  the 
church's  unity. 

The  preachers  exercise  power  over  the  community  by  the 
living  word,  by  their  discourses,  by  the  sacraments  and  disci- 
pline. If  an  offence  be  known  to  only  a  few  persons,  the  tem- 
porary separation  from  the  Lord's  table  shall  not  be  openly 
declared,  but  shall  be  made  known  to  the  consistory  only,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  infliction  of  unnecessary  disgrace  and  vexa- 
tion. In  the  case  of  greater  sins  and  errors,  the  offender  shall 
be  immediately  and  publicly  excluded  from  the  sacrament,  even 
although  he  evidence  repentance,  that  he  may  be  humbled,  and 
that  others  may  be  inspired  with  fear.  But  if  the  repentance 
be  evidently  sincere,  the  penitent  shall  be  openly  restored  to  the 
peace  of  the  church.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  continues  hard- 
ened, notwithstanding  all  the  admonitions  and  efforts  employed, 
he  is  to  be  once  more  openly  warned  in  the  name  of  the  church, 
and  the  church  itself  is  to  be  exhorted  to  pray  for  him,  so  that 
he  may  be  preserved  from  the  unhappiness  of  a  final  separation, 
and  that  it  may  be  seen,  at  the  same  time,  how  unwillingly  the 
ministers  of  the  congregation  proceed  to  such  extremities.  The 
importance  and  the  end  of  this  punishment,  no  other  object 
being  sought  thereby  but  the  honor  of  God,  the  peace  of  the 
church,  and  the  salvation  of  the  individual,  are  plainly  set  forth 
in  the  holy  Scriptures.  The  warnings  spoken  of  are  given  foi 
three  successive  Sundays.  On  the  first,  the  offender,  to  spare 
his  feelings,  is  not  named  ;  but  on  the  second  and  third  he  is. 
If  he  remains  obdurate,  the  sentence  of  excommunication  is 
openly  pronounced  against  him  on  the  fourth  Sunday,  and  by 
the  preacher,  "  on  the  authority  of  God's  Word,  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  whole  church."  The  people  are  then  generally 
warned  to  avoid  having  any  intercourse  with  such  a  man,  that 
he  may  be  the  sooner  humbled  and  moved  to  confess  his  sin. 
As  soon  as  he  exhibits  repentance,  the  congregation  is  to  be  in- 
formed of  it,  that  it  may  join  in  thanksgiving  to  God,  and  con- 
vince itself  of  the  reality  of  the  change.  The  sinner  is  then 
openly  to  acknowledge  his  offence,  to  condemn  himself,  to  ask 
pardon  of  God  and  the  church,  and  thus  to  seek  reconciliation 
with  the  brethren. 

Let  us  represent  to  ourselves  the  great  assembly  of  believers. 
The  minister,  as  the  organ  of  the  church,  is  heard  pronouncing 
from  the  pulpit  God's  judgment  on  the  sinner,  with  a  fore- 
feeling  of  the  eternal  judgment;  and  as  the  words  of  the  curse 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CHURCH    IN    GERMANY.  395 

fall  from  his  lips,  the  congregation,  if  truly  Christian,  recognizes 
the  proceeding  as  the  most  powerful  moral  means  that  can  be 
employed  for  the  humbling  of  a  sinner.  This  spiritual  censure, 
this  profound  pious  feeling,  this  reverence  for  the  communion,  and 
love  to  fallen  souls,  which  it  is  sought  to  alarm  by  the  judg- 
ments of  God,  when  love  can  do  no  more,  indicate  the  existence 
of  a  deep  Christian  life.  But  where  infidelity  prevails,  and  the 
holy  Supper  of  the  Lord  is  disregarded,  where  it  is  viewed  in  the 
light  of  a  mere  commemorative  ceremony,  as  a  mere  form,  that 
is, — where  such  is  the  case,  the  edifice  of  the  church  must  soon 
fall,  and  this  powerful  means  of  good  be  altogether  lost.  Excom- 
munication, however,  was  known  in  the  reformed  church  till 
within  the  last  hundred  years.  Christianity  indeed  must  sink 
lower  than  Judaism,  or  even  than  heathenism,  and  be  deprived  of 
all  its  sacred  force  and  inward  worth,  to  agree  with  the  present 
state  of  the  church,  when  laughter  is  excited  if  even  the  slightest 
mention  be  made  of  excommunication.  This  contempt  for  such 
a  mode  of  punishment  is  opposed  to  the  plainest  declarations  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles,*  to  the  practice  of  the  primitive  church, 
and  to  the  doctrine  of  the  fathers. 

The  Calvinistic  form  of  the  presbyterian  system  differs  from 
that  of  the  primitive  church  only  in  the  following  particulars  : — 

1.  A  distinction  is  established  between  the  clergy  and  laity,  of 
which  no  mention  is  made  in  the  records  of  the  primitive  church. 

2.  The  episcopal  element,  which  was  conspicuous  in  the  early 
church,  is  here  thrown  into  obscurity.  This  ecclesiastical  system 
consequently  occupies  a  middle  place  between  the  episcopal 
government,  and  the  freedom  of  the  methodist  church,  which 
recognizes  lay  ministers,  who  are  allowed  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
but  needing,  according  to  Wesley's  own  views,  a  superintendent 
of  higher  rank.  Calvin  viewed  the  position  of  the  clergy  as  that 
of  teachers,  and  appointed  regular  examinations  for  the  younger 
clergy  who  had  finished  their  studies.  It  was  not  altogether 
according  to  the  apostolic  rule  to  refuse  the  laity  permission  to 
preach.  3.  By  the  regulation  of  the  French  church,  the  deacons 
are  admitted  to  a  place  in  the  consistory,  which  was  originally 
confined  to  the  clergy. 

These  slight  deviations  excepted,  the  system  which  we  are  de- 
scribing was  purely  apostolic  in  its  principles,  and  was  as  little 
the  product  of  popular  interference  as  Calvin's  regulation  of  the 
state.     The  existence  of  government  is  from  above,  and  not  from 
*  Matt,  xviii.  17  ;  1  Cor.  v.  5  ;  1  Tim.  i.  20. 


396  CHURCH    IN    GERMANY.  [CHAP.   VI. 

beneath  ;  and  yet  the  congregation,  or  the  people,  may  possess 
their  full  rights,  and  as  much  freedom  as  is  consistent  with 
order. 

A  glance  at  the  ecclesiastical  constitution  established  in  Ger- 
many, will  show  still  more  evidently  the  difficulties  with  which 
the  protestants  had  to  contend,  and  the  imperfection  of  the  exist- 
ing means  of  superintendence,  with  the  noble  elements  which  lay 
involved  in  (he  Calvinistic  structure. 

That  it  cost  Luther,  who  was  the  first  to  set  himself  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  hierarchy,  no  slight,  trouble  to  acquire  any  clear 
notion  of  the  church,  and  of  its  relation  to  the  state,  is  evident 
from  the  indefiniteness  of  his  views.  Melancthon  gave  a  far 
better  representation  of  the  church  in  his  '  Apology.'  Thus,  in 
contradistinction  to  the  catholic  church,  he  describes  the  true 
church  of  Christ  as  the  congregation  of  saints,  bound  together 
by  the  same  faith  in  Christ,  and  whose  communion  with  each 
other  is  declared  by  their  joining  in  the  same  confession,  and 
participating  in  the  same  sacraments.  The  visible,  political 
union  of  the  people  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  a  type  of 
the  future  spiritual  polity.  The  form  of  the  outward  constitu- 
tion was  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  German  reformers.  The 
politia  externa  might  exist  under  any  variety  of  forms,  if  it  did 
but  uphold  the  kingdom  of  God.  Hence  they  did  not  reject,  as 
Calvin  and  the  Swiss,  the  catholic  constitution.  They  believed 
that  they  ought  to  persevere,  in  so  far  as  they  could  do  so  con- 
sistently with  the  Gospel.  Thus  it  happened  that  they  held  no 
definite  views  on  the  rights  of  the  church,  and  would  willingly 
have  retained  the  catholic  system,  had  the  bishops  submitted  to 
be  reformed.  But  as  these  dignitaries  resisted  such  attempts, 
and  the  church  was  no  longer  subjected  to  their  authority,  the 
reformers  gave  their  support  to  the  temporal  government,  that 
they  might  obtain  in  return  the  aid  of  its  support.  Thus  they 
allowed  it  to  change  the  constitution  of  the  churches,  when  the 
interests  of  the  Gospel  required  it,  and  their  officers  neglected 
to  do  it  themselves.  Hence  the  earlier  forms  originated  with 
the  civil  power,  and  the  latter  acquired  ecclesiastical  authority 
by  the  further  development  of  the  reformation.  A.a  early  as  the 
year  1520  Luther  called  upon  the  emperor  and  the  nobility  to 
ai.l  the  reformation,  and  thus  to  establish  the  church  by  means 
of  the  temporal  power.  Subsequently,  as  he  gave  no  peculiar 
form  of  government  to  the  church,  he  was  led  in  his  perplexity 
to  desire  that  the  civil  magistrate  would  act  more  decidedly,  and 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CHURCH    IN    GERMANY.  397 

that  the  government  might  refuse  to  tolerate  vain  doctrine, 
though  it  did  not  compel  confession.  He  also  advised  the 
banishment  of  heretics,  but  not  their  capital  punishment,  in  the 
infliction  of  which  the  civil  power  might  go  too  far.  After  the 
death  of  Fiederic  the  Wise,  he  felt  still  more  evidently  the  in- 
sufficiency of  his  earlier  views.  "If,  on  the  one  side,  we  limit 
and  define,  it  is  then  taken  advantage  of;  a  law  is  necessarily 
introduced,  and  opposed  to  the  freedom  of  belief;  if,  on  the  other, 
nothing  is  determined,  men  rush  on,  and  make  as  many  factions 
as  there  are  heads,  and  thus  both  the  Christian  simplicity  and 
the  Christian  union,  of  which  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter  speak,  are 
destroyed." 

In  1527,  when  the  great  church-visitation  in  the  electorate 
of  Saxony  was  brought  to  a  close,  Luther  wrote  in  the  preface 
to  the  Visitation-articles,  drawn  up  by  Melancthon, — "Although 
the  electors  are  not  called  upon  to  leach  or  to  govern  in  a  spirit- 
ual capacity,  still  they  are  bound,  even  as  temporal  rulers,  to 
prevent  schisms,  factions,  and  disturbances;  even  as  the  emperor 
Constantine  summoned  the  bishops  to  Nicaea,  because  he  neither 
would  nor  could  suffer  the  schism  which  Alius  had  created 
among  the  Christians,  but  constrained  them  to  unity  of  doctrine 
and  belief." 

"But  after  making  some  few  statements  of  his  opinion,  Luther 
seems  to  have  left  the  whole  matter,  of  the  relation  of  the  state 
to  the  church,  and  of  their  respective  rights,  to  be  settled  by  his 
followers.  Instead  of  a  mixed  tribunal  of  laity  and  clergy  being 
instituted,  as  in  Geneva,  to  settle  the  questions  in  debate,  super- 
intendents were  appointed.  At  the  very  first  church-visitation 
they  received  full  authority  to  watch  over  churches  and  schools, 
to  provide  for  the  defence  of  pure  doctrine,  of  outward  order,  of 
church  property,  and,  further,  to  determine  disputes  respecting 
marriages.  But  as  this  arrangement  was  not  found  sufficient,  a 
spiritual  tribunal  was  established,  first  at  Wittenberg,  through 
the  chancellor  Briick,  and  which  consisted  of  two'  spiritual  and 
two  lay  councillors.  During  Luther's  life-time,  that  is,  in  1542, 
the  elector  John  Frederic  employed  the  Wittenberg  theologians 
and  three  jurists  to  draw  up  a  constitution  for  this  tribunal. 

The  principles  of  the  Lutheran  church  government,  as  con- 
trasted with  those  of  the  Calvin  istic,  are  seen  in  the  so-called 
Wittenberg  reformation  of  1515,  the  last  and  the  most  striking  ex- 
hibition of  the  views  of  the  Saxon  divines  on  church  polity. 

Among  other  things,  it  is  said  of  bishops  : — "A  certain  variety 


398  LUTHERAN    CHURCH.  [cHAP.  VI. 

of  ranks  is  necessary  among  the  servants  of  the  church  ;  for  un- 
less all  had  the  same  gifts,  the  wiser  must  exercise  inspection 
over  the  weak.  If  the  existing  bishops  would  cease  from  their 
enmity  to  the  Gospel,  and  embrace  the  true  doctrine,  we  might 
patiently  endure  their  authority.  Their  aim  would  then  neces- 
sarily be,  either  to  preach  the  gospel  themselves,  or  to  have  it 
preached  by  faithful  men.  They  would  exercise  by  their  visita- 
tions a  control  over  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  would  hold  ecclesi- 
astical sessions,  and  sometimes  synods,  and  would  take  care  of 
both  the  higher  and  lower  schools.  With  regard  to  the  choice  of 
bishops,  it  seems  best  that  it  should  remain  as  before,  in  the  hands 
of  the  supreme  colleges  or  chapters,  and  that  where  the  princes 
have  certain  rights  they  should  still  retain  them.  For  if  an  at- 
tempt should  be  made  to  restore  the  old  practice  of  electing  bishops 
by  the  votes  of  the  whole  people,  or  of  the  chief  men  of  all  ranks, 
let  us  remember  that  this  mode  of  electing  them  excited,  in 
ancient  times,  the  greatest  tumults  in  Asia,  in  Greece  and  Italy  ; 
and  were  it  practised  in  Germany,  it  would  produce  still  more 
fearful  consequences." 

In  the  fourth  section,  on  church-tribunals,  it  is  said, — "  God 
has  committed  the  sword  to  the  magistrate,  to  uphold  discipline 
and  respect ;  and  He  has  also  established  an  ecclesiastical  tri- 
bunal, which  has  not  the  power  of  life  and  death,  but  that  of 
excluding  from  church  privileges  and  communion."  Subse- 
quently, and  with  good  reason,  disputes  concerning  marriages 
were  referred  to  this  tribunal,  so  many  questions  of  conscience 
arising  therefrom.  These  questions  had  often  been  found  too 
difficult  and  perplexed  to  be  resolved  by  individual  pastors  :  it 
was  therefore  determined  to  establish  consistories,  at  convenient 
distances,  in  every  diocese,  before  which  matrimonial  disputes 
might  be  settled  in  a  Christian  spirit. 

The  clergy  of  every  place  were  to  admonish  all  who  had  fallen 
into  sin  or  error.  If  they  did  not  improve,  they  were  to  be  cited 
before  the  consistory,  in  order,  if  found  guilty,  to  be  punished. 
This  was  the  case  when  offences  had  been  committed  of  which 
the  civil  magistrate  took  no  cognizance;  as  for  example,  if  any 
one  published  false  doctrine,  or  spoke  scornfully  of  the  Gospel 
or  the  sacraments;  if  he  neglected  for  a  whole  year  to  make 
confession,  or  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  if  he  reviled  his 
pastor,  or  any  other  servant  of  God  ;  if  he  lived  in  open  adultery, 
or  lent  his  money  on  usury,  or  was  disobedient  to  his  parents. 
or  indulged   in   intemperance,  or  in   gambling.     In   any  of  these 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LUTHERAN    CHURCH.  399 

cases,  the  consistories  were  to  pronounce  sentence  of  excommu- 
nication, and  to  send  an  account  of  the  sentence  thus  passed  to 
the  parish  in  which  the  offender  dwelt :  there  the  instrument 
was  to  be  read  from  the  pulpit,  or  nailed  to  the  church-door. 
Should  the  offender  despise  this  proceeding  against  him,  he 
might,  under  certain  circumstances,  be  punished  by  the  temporal 
power. 

According  to  the  views  of  the  Saxon  reformers,  the  true  church, 
agreeably  to  its  proper  nature,  was  an  object  of  belief,  but  never 
perfect  on  earth.  Without  separating  however  the  invisible  from 
the  visible  church,  the  kingdom  of  the  Gospel  is  ever  to  be  viewed 
as  distinct  from  the  kingdom  of  the  law,  aud  therefore  as  inde- 
pendent of  the  latter.  But  the  church  may  require  in  times  of 
necessity  the  protection  of  the  state.  This,  Christian  magistrates 
owe  exclusively  to  the  Christian  faith  ;  and  hence  there  is  natu- 
rally an  internal  bond  of  union  between  the  temporal  and  the 
ecclesiastical  power. 

That  Luther  was  unwilling  to  introduce,  as  Calvin  did,  con- 
stitutional forms,  arose  from  the  conviction,  that  the  steps  by 
which  the  enlightenment  of  the  German  people  advanced  did 
not  agree  with  the  establishment  of  such  forms.  He  thus  ex- 
pressed his  anxiety,  "  that  factions  might  not  spring  therefrom  ; 
for  the  Germans  are  a  wild,  rude,  turbulent  people,  with  whom  it 
is  not  easy  to  begin  anything,  unless  there  be  the  pressure  of  the 
greatest  necessity."* 

Philip  of  Hesse  made  the  experiment  in  1526  of  a  free  con- 
stitution, but  without  finding  any  imitator.  The  principles  of 
this  constitution  were  indeed  far  more  republican  than  the  Cal- 
vinistic  system.  Every  district  was  entire  in  itself,  and  had 
the  right  to  choose  its  own  bishop  (or  pastor),  and  to  depose 
him.  An  assembly  of  laymen  and  ministers  was  held  every 
week,  in  which  the  conduct  of  every  one,  the  bishop  included, 
was  proved  and  judged  ;  but  the  whole  congregation  only  could 
excommunicate.  Marriage  causes  were  tried  in  each  district  by 
the  bishop  and  experienced  assistants.  Excommunication  was 
inflicted  for  spiritual  offences  only,  but  it  carried  with  it  the 
loss  of  all  civil  rights.  The  churches  were  united  together  by  a 
synod,  which  assembled  yearly  at  Marburg.  Every  bishop  was 
to  be  accompanied  by  a  lay  deputy.  The  sovereign,  the  higher 
and  lower  nobility,  in  case  they  were  present,  and  the  bishops 
and  lay  deputies,  had  all  the  right  of  voting.  The  synod  tried, 
*   Walch  x.  272.     Compare  also  Tholuck,  Litter.  Anztiger,  1832,  p.  478. 


400  ENGLISH    CHURCH.  [cHAP.  VI. 

approved  or  annulled,  the  deposition  of  any  bishop  which  might 
have  taken  place  in  his  community.  "  In  difficult  cases  the 
parishes  might  appeal  to  the  synod,  but  its  decisions  had  no 
power  except  that  which  they  derived  from  their  intrinsic 
worth."  The  synod  at  Homberg  and  Lambert  of  Avignon  re- 
jected this  constitution.  Essential  alteration-'  however  were 
soon  necessarily  introduced  into  this  system  of  church  polity, 
whicli  brought  to  light  its  unfitness  for  the  times.  The.  Ger- 
man communities  would  probably  not  have  been  opposed  to 
such  a  constitution,  if  it  had  been  less  republican,  and  had  it 
been  introduced  by  degrees,  and  not  suddenly.  Calvin  had  to 
struggle  twenty  years  for  his  '  Institute/  and  had  to  educate  a 
new  people  for  himself.  Luther  also  wished  to  arm  himself 
with  the  right  of  excommunication,  but  had  not  the  courage  to 
introduce  it.  In  his  last  sermon  on  confession,  preached  at 
Wittenberg  in  1522*  (on  the  occasion  of  the  Carlstadt  disturb- 
ance), he  says,  "Christ  says  of  Confession,  'If  thy  brother  shall 
trespass  against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between  thee  and 
him  alone  ;'t  and  if  the  offender  would  not  abstain  from  his 
sin  and  humble  himself,  the  minister  was  to  separate  him  from 
the  whole  congregation,  and  put  him  under  ban,  till  he  repented 
and  was  again  received.  It  would  be  a  Christian  work  to  re- 
store this  discipline,  were  it  possible,  but  I  cannot  trust  to  my- 
self alone  to  establish  it."  A  sterner  system  of  discipline,  such 
a  one  as  was  not  introduced  till  after  his  death,  would  have  saved 
Luther  many  annoyances.  He  comforted  himself  with  the  hope, 
that  the  improved  state  of  the  church  would  of  itself  bring  about 
a  better  form  of  government. 

The  third  form  of  church  polity,  and  the  one  most  nearly 
allied  to  that  of  the  early  catholic  church,  was  established  in 
England.  The  original  catholic  form  was  preserved  there. 
Royal  authority  took  the  place  of  the  pope,  and  arbitrarily  com- 
manded what  should  be  believed.  It  assumed  a  more  gracious 
character  under  Elizabeth,  and  the  firm  immovable  Anglican 
system  grew  up  by  degrees,  but  the  life  of  the  church  again 
became  torpid  in  it.  It  is  however  worthy  of  remark,  that 
neither  Calvin  nor  Luther  believed  he  bad  discovered  the  best 
form  of  church  government.  Guided  by  a  righ!  feeling  and  expe- 
rience, the  former  was  not  opposed  to  a  combination  of  various 
forms  of  polity.  As  he  assembled  the  clergy  under  bis  own 
single  presidency,  to  elect  pastors,  and  after  preaching  to  judge 

*  Sermon  vom  Bann.bei  Walch  xix.  p.  1099.  t  VbM.  xviii-  16- 


A.D.   1541-49.]  CHURCH    IN    POLAND.  401 

of  their  lives  and  doctrine  (following  in  this  respect  the  pattern 
of  the  consistory),  he  himself  recommended  in  fact  the  episcopal 
element  for  the  larger  and  more  important  countries,  in  order 
to  secure  union  and  order.  In  conformity  with  this  principle, 
he  continued  permanent  president  of  the  consistory,  though  by 
doing  so  he  contradicted  all  the  rules  of  presbyterianism  which 
he  wished  to  establish.  Casaubon  declares,  in  a  conversation 
with  Uytenbogaert,  that  Calvin  had  become  bishop  of  Geneva. 
"  Mr.  de  Beza  had  said  to  him,  that  Mr.  Calvin,  who  had  rejected 
episcopacy,  was  in  fact  bishop  of  Geneva,  and  that  a  little  before 
his  death  he  had  proposed  to  Mr.  Beza  to  make  him  his  successor, 
but  that  the  latter  had  refused  the  offer."* 

It  thus  appears  that  Calvin  wished,  and  considered  it  neces- 
sary, that  the  place  of  president,  which  gave  him  importance, 
should  always  pertain  to  some  distinguished  member  of  the 
church.  But  Beza  had  not  the  same  view,  and  felt  anxious  that 
the  office  should  be  held  by  a  regular  succession  of  new  occu- 
pants. We  learn  from  the  registers  of  the  year  1580  how  the 
preachers  expressed  their  fears  to  the  council,  that  the  office  of 
president,  if  its  possessor  were  not  elected  weekly,  might  be 
converted  at  length  into  that  of  a  bishop.  "  They  would  joy- 
fully," they  said,  "  have  allowed  Calvin  constantly  to  hold  this 
place,  extraordinarily  endowed  as  he  was  with  grace  from  above ; 
but  it  was  very  certain  that  he  had  never  been  regularly  elected 
to  the  office." 

Still  more  remarkable  is  it,  that  Calvin  himself  proposed  a 
form  of  church  government  to  Sigismund,  king  of  Poland,  in 
which  he  combined  the  episcopal  with  the  presbyterian  element ; 
his  clear  understanding  perceiving  well,  that  a  different  form  of 
polity  was  necessary  for  a  great  kingdom,  to  that  which  he  had 
established  in  Geneva.  Calvin's  letter  is  dated  1544:  ':The 
ancient  church,"  he  says,  "  introduced  the  patriarchate,  and 
gave  each  province  its  primate,  that  by  this  bond  of  peace  and 
union  the  bishops  might  be  more  firmly  held  together.  As  if 
in  the  present  day  an  archbishop  should  be  appointed  presi- 
dent in  the  renowned  kingdom  of  Poland,  not  to  rule  over  the 
rest,  or  to  invade  their  rights,  but  who,  to  preserve  order,  should 
possess  the  first  rank  in  the  synods,  and  strive  to  preserve  a 
holy  union  among  his  official  brethren.  Bishops  also  might  be 
appointed    for  the   provinces  and    for  the    cities,    on   whom   the 

*  Epist.  Praestaut.  Yirorum,  Amst.  1684,  p.  250;  and  Brandt,  Hist,  de  la  Ref. 
i.  397. 


402  THE    CONSISTORY.  [cHAP.  VI. 

responsibility  should  peculiarly  rest  of  preserving  order.  The 
natural  course  of  things  directs  that  one  should  be  chosen  from 
the  rest  to  take  the  chief  management  of  affairs  ;  but  it  is  a  very 
different,  thing  for  a  man  to  be  satisfied  with  a  moderate  degree 
of  honor,  according  to  the  proper  measure  of  human  capability, 
to  his  wishing  to  embrace  the  whole  world  in  his  boundless 
sway." 

And   further,  in    the    often-cited    epistle    to   Somerset,    Calvin 
does  not  assail  the  episcopal  form  of  government,  but  speaks  of 
pastors,    curates,    and    bishops.      "  The   office   of    curates    and 
bishops,"    he   says,    M  is    to    watch    over   discipline  ;"    which    he 
would  never  have  said  if  he  had  considered  this  species  of  gov- 
ernment   inconsistent   with    the    Gospel.      Still   Calvin    remains 
the  especial  representative  of  presbyterianism,  while  Luther  rep- 
resents the  consistorial,  and  Cranmer  the  episcopal  system,  with- 
out either  the  one  or  the  other  thinking  he  had  reached  perfection. 
If   these  three    forms  were    more    thoroughly   blended  together, 
the  presbytery  (consisting  of  laymen  and  ministers)  would  have 
to  undertake  the  peculiar  business  of  governing,  and  the  manage- 
ment therefore  of  the  common  temporal  concerns  of  the  church  ; 
the  consistory,  composed  entirely  of  spiritual   members,    would 
watch  over  matters  purely  spiritual,  as  those   relating  to  faith, 
worship,  or  discipline.     But  in   both  cases  their  determinations 
would    be    only    temporary,    it    being   for    synods    and    general 
synods  to  unite  them  in  one  body,  and  finally  determine  the  main 
points  of  discussion.     This  is  according  to  the  principle,  that  it  is 
injurious  for  the  laity  to  meddle  with  spiritual,  or  for  the  clergy  to 
interfere  with  worldly  affairs  ;  while  each  ought  to  have  the  right 
of  pronouncing  a  veto  on  the  resolutions  of  the  other,  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  abuse  or  despotism. 

According  to  the  idea  thus  suggested,  the  bishop  would  be 
the  permanent  moderator  of  the  consistory  and  the  synod,  but 
not  the  moderator  of  the  presbytery,  who  might  be  changed  by 
election  or  lot.  Here  would  therefore  be  the  three  elements  of 
a  constitutional  government.  The  bishop  would  represent  the 
kingly  element;  the  consistory  the  upper  chamber,  that  is,  the 
fixed  unchanging  principle  of  order;  whilst  the  presbytery  would 
represent  the  element  of  movement  in  tin*,  lower  chamber  ;  the 
church  elders  and  deacons  entering  and  deciding  as  representa- 
tives of  the  people,  and  being,  according  to  Calvin's  principle, 
double  in  number  above  the  rest.  New  and  fundamental  laws 
■could  only  be  passed  by  the  consent  of  the  three  powers,   that 


A.D.  1541-49.]  THEOCRATIC    GOVERNMENT.  403 

is,  by  their  uniting  together,  if  the  question  concerned  ecclesiasti- 
cal rights  or  dogmas,  and  deciding  according  to  the  sense  of 
Scripture.  This  most  complete  synod  shows  the  measure  of 
divine  grace,  which  God  imparted  to  the  church  for  the  recog- 
nition of  the  truth  at  one  particular  time. 

But  should  the  sublimer  idea  of  the  theocratic  government  be- 
come more  and  more  developed  in  christianized  humanity,  and  this 
is  not  improbable,  we  should  then  arrive  at  a  higher  exhibition 
of  the  power  of  the  state  in  reference  to  the  church  ;  at  that  in 
which  the  king  is  seen,  like  the  high-priest  in  Israel,  as  the 
bishop  of  the  church,  and  standing  at  the  head  of  spiritual 
affairs :  whilst  the  bishops  and  the  synods  (with  no  other  power 
than  that  given  by  the  spirit  and  by  prayer)  are  called  in  to  afford 
their  counsel  on  worldly  and  political  matters,  on  those,  that  is, 
which  concern  war  and  peace,  or  the  justice  of  warlike  under- 
takings ;  the  magistrate  notwithstanding  being  without  spiritual, 
and  the  church  without  temporal,  power  ;  both  fulfilling  the  will 
of  God  in  Christ. 

Thus  there  is  much  to  admire  and  praise  in  the  pure  theo- 
cratic element,  and  it  is  far  from  deserving,  as  some  would  pre- 
tend, to  be  despised.  The  archbishops  and  bishops  in  England 
have  a  seat  and  voice  in  parliament;  and  many  of  the  European 
sovereigns,  as  in  Prussia  and  Russia,  are  regarded  as  the  heads 
of  their  respective  churches. 

Ecclesiastical  order  requires  unity  in  the  church.  After  having 
considered  the  outward  form  of  the  church,  we  will  turn  our 
attention  more  particularly  to  its  inward  life.  Christ  insists 
upon  that  oneness,  without  which  no  communion  is  possible,  and 
he  said, — "  I  pray  for  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  thou 
Father  art  in  me  and  I  in  Thee."  This  prayer  has  had  its  effect 
in  all  ages,  producing  that  constant  unioK  of  spirit  among  all 
true  believers,  which  may  be  seen  amid  every  variety  of  outward 
forms  and  distinctions.  Albigenses,  Waldenses,  Wickliffites, 
Hussites,  evangelical  protestants,— all  have  the  same  faith  in 
fundamental  points,  and  manifest  a  true  oneness  in  spirit,  in 
the  church, — a  unity  contra/y  to  that  of  the  Romish  church,  in 
which  an  outward  union  lias  been  forcibly  established  by  fear 
and  the  inquisition.  The  might  of  the  Holy  Spirit  shows  itself 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  various  divisions  of  the  Christian 
church  have  been  constantly  drawn  together,  whenever  the 
church  suffered  violence.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
bring  Christians  as  a  community  to  God.     It  is  He  alone  who 


404  CHURCH    UNITY.  [CHAP.  VI. 

can  establish  a  true  inward  unity  I  the  outward  means  will  avail 
nothing,  if  his  quickening  influence  be  not  there.  The  union  of 
the  various  parties  through  belief  in  one  truth  is  consequently  a 
grand  idea,  rich  in  results,  and  will  always  distinguish  the  efforts 
of  true  Christians.  All  those  who  have  sought  to  call  them 
forth  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  benefactors  of  mankind,  because 
they  have  endeavored  to  prevent  indescribable  sufferings,  but 
have  too  often  chosen  wrong  means,  such,  that  is,  as  were  not 
agreeable  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 

This  oneness  in  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  was  the  desire  of 
all  the  reformers;  and  Calvin,  when  be  separated  himself  from 
the  church,  immediately  established  again  a  unity  in  his  own 
evangelical  church  ;  and  this  was  the  great  desire  of  his  soul, 
and  the  grand  aim  of  his  efforts,  his  whole  life  through.  But 
this  unity,  which  consists  in  the  spirit,  can  only  be  promoted  by 
spiritual  means.  This  too  was  Calvin's  conviction;  but  he  was 
in  peculiar  circumstances,  and  often  felt  it  his  duty  to  act  with 
some  degree  of  violence,  like  one  of  the-  prophets  of  the  old 
covenant.  He  makes  innumerable  allusions  to  this  unity  in  the 
spirit,  readily  suffering  little  variations,  and  insisting  upon  free- 
dom of  opinion. 

As  this  unity  consists  in  the  spirit,  it  can  easily  be  called  forth. 
In  their  endless  endeavors  to  acquire  it,  Christians  have  used 
various  means  to  effect  a  union,  and  thereby  gain  their  end.  In 
the  first  place,  we  see  compulsion  and  ignorance,  by  which  the 
catholic  church  holds  its  members  together.  Scriptural  instruc- 
tion is  the  principle  of  the  protestant  church  ;  the  discussion  of 
doctrines;  according  to  which  method  people  may  set  dogmas, 
like  provinces,  one  against  the  other.  Indifference  as  to  doctrine, 
and  Christian  charity,  have  also  been  employed,  time-  without 
number,  as  means  of  union.  But  the  means  proper  to  the  Cal- 
vinistic  system  consist  principally  in  uniformity  of  government, 
and  in  the  endeavor  to  aw&ken  the  same  spirit, — a  spirit.  >t  riving 
after  the  truth  in  love,  through  the  combined  efforts  of  presby- 
teries and  synods  ;  but  lastly  also  by  confessions,  catechisms,  and 
liturgical  forms. 

Unity  in  the  spirit  therefore  will  not  be  established,  because 
an  oath  of  uniformity  lias  been  taken  ;  but  the  door  will  be  closed 
in  some  degree  against  the  lovers  of  strife,  and  oneness  of  spirit 
will  be  promoted  by  degrees,  through  the  preaching  of  the  same 
faith  in  the  same  expressions.  That  Calvin  believed  it  possible 
to  attain  to  a  holy  union  in  this  way,  is  proved  by  an  important 


A.D.  1541-49.]  PRINCIPLES    OF    UNITY.  405 

passage  from  his  letter  to  Somerset,  in  which  he  says  that  the 
church  of  God  could  not  exist  without  catechisms. 

It  may  be  objected  to  his  principle,  that  creeds  in  the  present 
day  are  almost  forgotten,  and  that  the  Bible  alone  effects  unity. 
And  we  here  indeed  stumble  upon  an  evident  contradiction, 
since,  according  to  the  basis  of  the  reformation,  freedom  of  con- 
science and  the  right  of  individual  interpretation  of  Scripture 
are  the  very  essence  of  its  opposition  to  Rome.  So  that,  accord- 
ing to  this,  the  reformers  could  not  have  the  right  to  prescribe 
a  formulary  of  belief,  and  to  punish  every  one  with  excommuni- 
cation who  would  not  adopt  it.  Thus  on  the  one  side  unity  is 
holy  in  their  eyes,  and  on  the  other  individual  freedom :  it  is 
impossible  that  they  should  exist  together. 

In  Geneva,  as  in  Germany,  freedom  of  conscience  has  not 
been  always  respected,  though  Calvin  only  desired  to  have 
order,  without  compulsion;  and  Luther  in  his  better  hours  ex- 
pressed himself  powerfully  against  persecution.  In  the  con- 
cordance-formulary also  he  says,  "  We  ought  not  to  look  for  a 
law  therein,  by  which  to  pronounce  judgment,  but  simply  for  a 
statement  of  the  doctrine  of  the  church."  But  these  liberal 
views  of  the  freedom  of  belief  were  not  retained.  The  confes- 
sion of  faith  was  soon  converted  into  a  formal,  or  paper-pope,  as 
it  has  been  called.  It  may  however  be  answered,  that,  incon- 
venient or  unfitting  as  formularies  of  faith  may  seem,  they  are 
indispensably  necessary  to  the  individual  existence  of  the  church, 
— to  the  support  of  unity,  without  which  a  church  cannot  exist; 
and  that  Calvin  has  proved  this  in  his  epistle  to  Somerset  by  ar- 
guments adapted  to  all  times.  The  church  must  know  what 
doctrines  its  preachers  recognize  as  found  in  Scripture,  whether 
the  minister  about  to  be  received  is  a  Christian,  and  does  not 
conceal  atheistic  or  antichristian  opinions  under  the  cloak  of 
Scriptural  expressions.  On  the  other  side,  the  state  must  also 
know  what  doctrine  the  church,  which  it  protects,  acknowledges. 
So  too  must  the  evangelical  church  distinguish  itself  from  the 
catholic  and  the  Greek  communities;  and  they  who  will  own  the 
Bible  only  to  be  the  palladium  of  unity,  must  make  their  con- 
fession, though  in  the  briefest  form, — "  We  receive  the  Scriptures 
only  as  the  rule  of  faith."  And  this  justifies  us  in  further 
asking,  "What  do  you  understand  by  the  Scriptures  and  faith?" 
and  so  on. 

Here  arises  the  question,  in  what  manner  should  the  church 
oblige  its  members  to  the  confession  of  its  faith?     Should  it  seek 


406  CONFESSIONS    OP    FAITH.  [CHAP.  VI. 

to  restore  the  old  unconditional  method  of  compulsion,  and 
again  appeal  to  the  arm  of  the  state?  Should  it  expel  from  the 
office  of  teachers  those  who  do  not  adhere  with  sufficient  exact- 
ness to  the  expressions  of  the  symbol?  Or  should  it  take  the 
opposite  view,  and  let  the  formularies  of  faith  alone,  without 
regarding  them,  except  as  venerable  monuments;  and  require 
only  a  general  conformity,  leaving  the  matter  to  God,  and  allow- 
ing "men's  spirits,"  as  Luther  expresses  himself,  "to  clash  freely 
against  each  other,"  because  that  sooner  or  later  this  opposition, 
as  church  history  shows,  will  resolve  itself  into  the  wished-for 
unity?  Or,  again,  should  the  church  adopt  the  views  of  those 
who  contend,  that  such  a  unity  as  that  spoken  of  is  impossible  ; 
that  the  attempt  to  effect  it  would  only  produce  hypocrisy,  or, 
such  being  the  vast  difference  of  opinion,  the  separation  of  those 
who  are  too  honest  to  sacrifice  their  own  belief,  and  therefore  are 
unwilling  to  adopt  a  symbol  ? 

The  proper  solution  of  this  difficulty  is  a  right  understanding 
of  evangelical  freedom.  Thus  it  is  absolutely  false  that  the  evan- 
gelical church  pretends  to  an  absolute,  unconditional  freedom. 
On  the  contrary,  the  freedom  which  it  enjoys  is  defined  by  the 
blessed  Scriptures,  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  bridles  our 
understanding.  The  members  of  the  church  who  imagine  that 
they  may  crush  everything  by  their  reasoning  and  their  critical 
exegesis,  without  subjecting  themselves  in  faith  to  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  belong  not  to  the  church  of  Christ,  but  to  the 
world.  True  Christians  submit  themselves  freely  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  consequently  to  the  formularies  of  faith,  the  substance 
of  which  is  found  in  Scripture.  The  contradiction  is  only 
apparent;  the  inconsequence  is  only  a  pretence.  Luther  and 
Calvin  established  a  unity  of  doctrine,  but  according  to  Scrip- 
ture, and  with  minds  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Councils 
decide  on  the  sense  of  Scripture,  and  publish  confessions  of 
faith,  and  to  these  every  one  ought  to  submit  himself.  Calviu 
acknowledges  the  first  four  councils,  because  they  are  in  agree- 
ment with  the  meaning  of  Scripture.  It  is  not  the  thought  of 
the  individual  which  here  determines  the  conformity  of  these 
councils  to  Scripture,  but  the  man  enlightened  by  God.  We 
subscribe  however  to  the  decisions  of  councils  or  synods  only 
according  to  the  Spirit.  Id  this  manner  both  Christian  freedom 
and  the  unity  of  the  church  may  alike  be  secured.  It  is 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  not  the  word,  the  formulary,  or  the 
mere   dogma,    which    establishes    this    unitv.      One    truth    only 


A.D.   1541-49.]  CONFESSIONS    OF    FAITH.  407 

lives  in  the  church,  and  they  who  seek  it  in  the  spirit  will  always 
agree  in  the  main  points  of  belief.  This  indeed  seems  but  a 
slight  bond  of  union,  but  it  was  the  only  possible  one  which 
Spener  knew  of  in  his  times.  A  compulsory  unity  is  in  some 
respects  a  pure  impossibility.  The  invisible  unity  of  the  church 
is  grounded  upon  the  truth,  which  is  from  God,  and  can  be  but 
one  ;  but  the  visible  depends  upon  the  declarations  of  the  as- 
sembled ministers  of  a  church,  which  determine  the  measure  of 
knowledge,  but  still  can  only  be  subscribed  according  to  the 
Spirit.  Without  the  existence  however  of  these  synods,  it  is 
impossible  for  the  temporal  power,  strive  as  it  may,  to  restore  the 
lost  unity  of  the  church  by  a  compulsory  confession  of  faith. 
This  is  shown  by  the  effect  of  the  Prussian  edict  of  July  9,  1788, 
the  latest  experiment  of  the  kind. 

Calvin  found  some  confessions  of  faith  already  existing  when 
he  entered  his  church ;  as,  for  example,  that  of  Zwingli  ad- 
dressed to  Charles  V.  but  without  symbolic  force ;  the  Confessio 
Tetrapolitana,  and  the  two  Helvetic  confessions,  which  have 
some  symbolic  authority.  The  first  Helvetic  confession  was 
that  of  Miihlhausen,  drawn  up  by  Myconius  ;  the  second,  which 
appeared  in  1536,  was  framed  by  Bullinger,  Myconius  and  Gry- 
naeus,  and  of  this  Ruchat  says,  "It  is  that  which  we  call  the 
first  Helvetic  confession,  to  distinguish  it  from  another  more 
extended  one,  drawn  up  in  1566."  In  the  whole  we  find  that 
there  were  four  complete  confessions  of  faith  existing  in  Calvin's 
time,  in  his  reformed  church.  First,  there  was  that  prepared  by 
Farel,  in  conjunction  with  Calvin,  at  Geneva.  It  consisted  of 
twenty-one  articles,  and  to  this  the  citizens  were  obliged  to  swear 
in  1536,  but  it  possessed  no  proper  symbolic  authority.  Secondly, 
there  was  the  third  Helvetic  confession,  of  the  year  1566, 
which  was  occasioned  by  the  resolutions  of  the  Consensus 
Tigurinus  of  the  years  1549,  1551  and  1554.  This  was  in 
reality  the  earlier  one  of  1536,  but  modified  by  Bullinger,  Beza 
and  Gualter  :  it  was  subscribed  by  all  the  Swiss  churches,  with 
the  exception  of  that  of  Basil  and  Neuchatel :  it  is  consequently 
the  confession  also  of  the  Genevese  church.  Thirdly,  there  was 
the  French  confession,  the  origin  of  which  is  related  in  Beza's 
Church  History,  and  in  Crespin's  Martyrology.  The  first  con- 
gregation in  Paris  was  formed  in  1555.  Under  Henri  II.  the 
assembled  parliament  declared  itself,  almost  without  a  dissen- 
tient voice,  in  favor  of  the  new  doctrine:  many  of  its  mem- 
bers were  thrown  into  prison.     But  in  the  year  1559,  when  the 


408  CONFESSIONS    OF    FAITH.  [CHAP.  VI. 

reformed  assembled  for  the  first  time  in  a  national  synod,  they 
set  forth  both  their  confession  and  their  discipline  in  forty  arti- 
cles.* This  instrument  is  the  same  as  that  which,  in  1561,  was 
laid  before  Charles  IX.  and  Catherine  de  Medicis  at  Poissy,  and 
formed  the  symbolic  writing's  of  the  old  French  reformed  church. 
Fourthly,  we  find  an  excellently  drawn-up  confession,  addressed 
by  Calvin  to  the  emperor  of  Germany  and  the  prince  of  Conde, 
at  Frankfurt,  for  the  reformed  church,  but  which  has  never  had 
a  symbolic  character.  The  confession  of  the  French  church  in 
forty  articles  is  not  to  be  compared  to  the  masterpiece  of  Me- 
lancthon.  It  is  however  distinct  and  practical,  and  speaks  so 
forcibly  on  the  holiness  of  unity,  and  so  correctly  on  the  mystery 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  that  it  would  be  difficult  perhaps  to  find 
these  subjects  better  explained.  But  the  season  of  apostasy 
brought  with  it  also  apostasy  from  this  confession,  produced  at 
the  expense  of  such  terrible  struggles.  In  the  present  day  the 
church  of  Geneva  has  determined  to  support  itself  without  any 
form  of  confession,  and  it  is  a  question  whether  it  may  not  soon 
fall  into  fragments.  In  the  canton  of  Neuchatel  also  the  minis- 
ters only  sign  a  promise,  that  they  will  teach  the  holy  Scriptures 
according  to  their  convictions,  and  they  are  apparently  satisfied 
with  the  result.  In  the  work  of  the  preacher  St.  Vincent,  at 
Nismes,  against  the  first  publication  of  La  Mennais,  it.  is  also 
shown  that  the  holy  Scriptures  alone  must  be  the  foundation  of 
unity,  and  that  without  any  aid  from  formularies  of  fail  b.  So 
also  it  appears  from  the  'Archives  du  Chr.  Dec.  1S30,'  that  the 
Genevese  consistory  thus  formally  declared  itself  respecting  con- 
fessions, in  the  moderator's  address,  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1819: — "It  rejected  all  confessions  of  faith."  The  preacher 
Heyer,  in  a  pamphlet  published  in  1818,  against  confessions,  and 
whilst  the  controversy  with  the  separatists  was  going  on,  says 
that  the  confession  now  needed  is  the  following : — "  The  holy 
Scriptures  are  the  only  rule  of  our  belief,  and  there  is  no  unfail- 
ing interpreter  of  this  rule  on  earth." 

This  therefore  is  the  end,  at  Geneva,  of  that  noble,  heart-felt 
confession  which  existed  for  so  many  generations,  and  was 
sealed  by  the  blood  of  so  many  of  the  members  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
of  that  holy  conflict,  the  object  of  which  was  to  restore  the,  old 
church  assemblies,  that  the  true  unity  in  the  Lord  might  again 
be  established,  both  outwardly  and  spiritually. 

*  Beza,  Hist.  Eccles.  L  ii.  pp.  173-186. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

calvin's  catechism. — his  liturgical  order. — outward 
worship:  its  relation  to  the  arts. — psalm-singing 
in  the  reformed  churches. calvin's  excess  in  re- 
form :  compared  with  vincentius  de  paula. 

Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  as  to  formularies 
of  belief,  few  persons  will  fail  to  agree  with  Calvin  on  the  neces- 
sity of  some  book  of  instruction  for  the  people.  His  first  catechism, 
written  in  French,  appeared  in  1536,  and  in  Latin  in  1538.  It 
was  taken  from  the  'Institutes,'  and  was  intended  for  adults. 

Calvin's  next  popular  writing,  his  catechism  for  children,  has 
been  attended  with  extraordinary  blessings,  as  has  been  the  case 
with  Luther's  smaller  works,  as  the  numerous  translations  of 
them  prove.  They  appeared  first  in  French  in  1541,  and  then  in 
Latin  in  1545,  possessing  a  symbolic  character. 

It  was  disputed  in  the  French  synods  whether  this  elementary 
work  should  be  received  entire,  or  whether  some  expressions  in  it 
should  not  be  altered  ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  adopt  it  unchanged. 
But  Calvin's  catechism,  with  his  doctrine  and  his  memory,  has 
altogether  vanished  out  of  France.  The  rationalistic  catechism 
of  the  Genevese  preacher  Vernet  has  supplied  the  place  of  the 
Calvinistic.  In  other  churches,  that  of  the  not  too  much  to  be 
despised  catechism  of  Osterwald  has  been  adopted  in  its  room. 
And  surely  it  may  be  reckoned  among  the  follies  of  our  age,  that 
it  troubles  itself  with  numberless  experiments  to  form  a  new 
catechism,  which  it  will  never  accomplish,  the  best  work  of  this 
kind  being  already  in  existence.  The  new  one  consequently,  if 
compared  with  this,  can  only  prove  unsatisfactory,  colorless  and 
insipid. 

The  catechism  for  children,  published  in  1541,  is  divided  into 
portions  for  fifty-five  Sundays  ;  so  that  Calvin  had  prepared  the 
course  of  catechetical  instruction  for  more  than  a  year,  as  the 
shortest  period  in  which  it  could  be  completed.  Although 
Luther,  as  the  man  of  the  people,  is  so  incomparable  in  his 
writings,  this  little  work  of  Calvin  has  great  excellences  in 
respect  to  the  order  and  progress  of  the  ideas.     The  fundamental 


410  calvin's  catechism.  [chap.  VII 

principle,  as  in  all  Calvin's  works,  is  a  living  faith  in  God  :  upon 
this  all  the  rest  depends.  He  does  not  therefore,  like  Luther,  first 
explain  the  law,  then  faith  and  prayer,  without  a  fundamental  or 
ruling  idea,  but  he  says  at  the  beginning: — 

"What  is  the  true  and  right  confession  of  God  ? 

"  When  we  know  Him,  so  as  to  honor  Him. 

"What  is  the  right  way  of  honoring  Him? 

"  1.  That  we  put  our  trust  in  Him. 

"2.  That  we  serve  Him,  being  obedient  to  his  will. 

"3.  That  we  seek  Him  in  all  our  necessities,  and  look  for  sal- 
vation and  happiness  in  Him. 

"4.  That  we  acknowledge  both  with  our  lips  and  with  our 
heart  that,  all  good  comes  from  Him." 

The  ground  of  a  genuine  trust  in  God  consists  in  this,  that  we 
know  Him  in  Jesus  Christ.     This  leads— 

1.  To  the  explanation  of  the  Apostles'  creed,  which  is  consid- 
ered as  divided  into  four  parts,  referring  to  the  Father,  the  Son, 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  church. 

2.  From  the  belief,  the  author  proceeds  to  the  consideration  of 
works,  of  repentance,  of  the  law,  and  the  ten  commandments. 
Then  follows  an  account  of  the  worship  of  God,  which  consists 
in  doing  His  will,  and  keeping  the  great  commandment. 

2.  From  the  law,  he  passes  on  to  explain  the  nature  of  prayer, 
God's  help  being  needed  to  enable  us  to  do  God's  will. 

4.  The  "Our  Father"  affords  a  subject  for  the  fourth  article, 
and  for  the  praise  of  God,  as  the  source  of  all  good,  and  as  the 
giver  to  his  church  of  his  holy  Word  and  sacraments.     . 

On  the  whole,  if  the  Lutheran  catechism  be  more  original  in 
its  kind,  this  of  Calvin's  is  better  adapted  for  all  classes.  The 
Heidelberg  catechism,  compiled  by  Ursinus  and  Olevian,  is 
founded  on  a  totally  different  plan :  1.  it  proceeds  from  the 
acknowledgment  of  man's  misery  ;  2.  it  treats  of  his  deliverance 
through  faith,  and  it  connects  the  whole  confession  of  faith  with 
the  sacraments  ;  then,  3.  it  speaks  of  thankfulness  and  love  to 
God,  as  the  source  of  our  conversion  and  sanctified  lion  ;  and  the 
work  ends  with  an  exposition  of  the  ten  commandments,  and 
"Our  Father." 

Calvin  regarded  it  as  most  important,  for  the  safety  of  the 
church,  to  establish  a  durable  order  through  uniformity  in  litur- 
gical rites,  and  thereby  to  oppose  effectually  the  wilfulness  of 
individuals.  But  even  here  he  would  suffer  nothing  which  was 
not  in   strict  conformity  with   the  Scriptures.     He  in  all  things 


A. D.  1541-49.]  CHURCH    SERVICE.  411 

exhibited  the  purest  antagonism  to  Rome ;  and  as  the  papists 
made  the  central  point  of  their  religious  services  the  mass,  a 
wonder  invented  by  men,  so  Calvin  employed  the  exposition  of 
the  Bible  as  the  middle  point  of  the  devotions  of  his  church. 
Again,  as  in  Catholicism  the  body  of  Christ  is  brought  forth  at 
the  powerful  word  of  the  priest,  who  thus  plays  the  principal 
part  in  the  ceremony ;  so  in  the  protestant  congregation  the 
corresponding  part  is  taken  by  the  minister,  who  reads  and  ex- 
pounds the  Word.  But  while  the  mass  proclaims  to  the  people 
the  presence  of  God,  and,  apart  from  all  errors,  awakens  in  them, 
as  well-instructed  Christian  catholics,  a  deep  feeling  of  devotion 
to  God  or  Christ,  so  will  the  distinction  of  the  two  kinds  of 
worship,  the  one  characterized  by  prayer,  the  other  by  teaching, 
be  found  in  Scripture.  The  catholics  do  not  indeed  altogether 
neglect  instruction,  nor  do  the  protestants  fail  in  earnest  worship 
and  devotion  by  prayer  and  singing.  But  still,  in  the  prot- 
estant church  the  means  of  edification  depend  mainly  on  the 
individual  ability  of  the  preacher,  who,  if  he  be  unfit  for  the 
office,  deprives  the  whole  service  of  its  value,  which  cannot  be 
the  case  if  the  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  his  renewed 
sacrifice,  be  the  groundwork  of  the  edifice.  But  among  the 
catholics  divine  worship  has  degenerated  into  superstition,  while 
among  the  protestants  it  has  been  lost  in  dry  polemics  and  vain 
discussions ;  and  hence,  on  both  sides,  God's  service  has  seem- 
ingly been  rendered  useless.  Onesidedness  reigns  in  both 
churches,  the  service  in  neither  comprehending  as  it  ought  the 
whole  man,  nor  answering  all  the  wants  of  the  soul.  In  these 
agitated  times  therefore,  in  which  the  old  forms  are  destroyed, 
an  effort  has  been  made  to  blend  them  together  in  one.  In  the 
new  Prussian  Agende,  the  sermon  is  distinct  from  the  liturgy, 
which,  by  confession  of  sin,  prayer  and  singing,  is  made  an  in- 
troduction to  the  worship  of  God,  which  in  our  church  recedes; 
and  when  the  Lord's  Supper  follows  upon  the  sermon  (or  in- 
struction), the  three  liturgical  elements,  confession,  teaching 
and  prayer,  the  highest  in  religion,  and  the  bond  of  our  spir- 
itual union  with  Christ,  crucified  for  us,  are  all  present  for  our 
edification.  In  another  profoundly-conceived  liturgical  experi- 
ment, arising  from  the  Agende,  these  elements  are  combined 
together  in  one,  and  the  result  is  presented  in  three  parts.  The 
Sunday  service  begins  with  an  act  of  penitence  and  confession ; 
then  follows  the  sermon,  and  afterwards  the  prayers,  with  sing- 
Mig  and  responses.     These  three  elements  are  also  found  in  the 


412  calvin's  liturgy.  [chap.  vii. 

Calvinistic  liturgy,— confession  of  sins,  preaching,  prayer  and 
singing, — but.  the  preaching  occupied  the  most  important  part 
of  the  service.  Still  there  was  wanting  that  which  was  so  im- 
posing in  the  mass,  the  feeling  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ.  On 
this  account  the  Lord's  Supper  should  have  been  celebrated,  in 
conformity  with  the  Scripture  rule,  at  all  times  of  public  service, 
or  at  least,  have  been  announced.  This  is  founded  on  the  prin- 
ciple, that  no  religion  can  exist  without  a  sacrifice ;  and  certain 
it  is,  that  the  reformers  in  the  south  went  too  far  in  abolishing 
rites,  while  the  Lutheran  church  retained  a  host  of  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  a  liturgical  service  for  the 
mass  at  the  altar. 

In  the  year  1543,  that  is,  soon  after  his  return,  Calvin  estab- 
lished the  liturgy,  which  still  constitutes  the  foundation  of  the 
liturgies  of  the  reformed  church.  The  customary  prayers  appear 
among  his  writings  in  old  French:  we  especially  remark  the  con- 
fession of  sins,  extracted  from  the  mass-book,  and  forming  the 
beginning  of  the  service,  and  also  the  preparation  for  the  sacra- 
ment. It  is  cause  for  rejoicing  that  both  these  prayers  have  been 
partly  preserved  in  the  new  liturgies. 

The  confession  of  sins  and  the  singing  of  psalms  were  followed 
by  an  extempore  prayer,  before  the  sermon.  Calvin  however 
seems  usually  to  have  repeated  one  of  his  own,  there  being  found 
in  the  old  edition  of  his  sermons  on  the  book  of  Job,  the  Priere 
que  fait  or din  air ement  M.  Jean  Calvin  an  commencement  de  ses 
sermons,  et  la  priere  quil  fait  en  la  Jin  de  chant n.  sermon*  lie 
may  perhaps  have  employed  this  form  in  those  weekday  services 
at  which  he  preached,  and  when  the  liturgical  form  was  of  a  freer 
kind,  the  prayer  after  sermon  not  being  liturgical.  The  discourse 
again  was  followed  by  prayer,  by  confession  of  sins,  by  singing, 
and  the  blessing. 

The  simple  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  according  to  the 
Calvinistic  form,  with  its  profoundly  impressive  liturgy,  and  as 
it  is  still  observed  in  all  the  reformed,  and  partly  in  the  united, 
churches,  concludes  with  the  song  of  Simeon,  and  exhibits 
throughout  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  splendid  solemnity  of 
the  catholic  mass.  In  the  one,  we  have  the  spiritual  presence  of 
Christ,  and  hearts  bowed  beneath  the  roof  of  the  plainest  of  edi- 
fices ;  in  the  other,  the  splendors  of  art,  a  choir  of  hired  singers, 
the  rich  colors  of  the  priestly  garments,  and  tin:  dark  belief  in 
a  miracle.     Let  any  one  read  Madame  de  Stael's*  description  of 

*  Allemngne.     Genie  du  Chr. 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  liturgy.  413 

the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  little  village  of  Sa- 
tigny,  near  Geneva,  and.  written  as  it  was  by  one  who  fully 
apprehended  the  earnestness  and  holiness  of  the  Calvinistic  ser- 
vice ;  let  it  be  compared  with  Chateaubriand's  enthusiastic  picture 
of  the  Romish  mass,  in  which  all  kinds  of  liturgical  elements  are 
mixed  together ;  and  it  will  be  felt  that  the  reading  of  the  epistle 
and  Gospel,  which  is  connected  with  the  preaching,  breaks  like 
an  interruption  upon  the  prayers. 

The  reformed  church  has  retained  nothing  pertaining  to  art, 
but  the  singing  of  psalms,  and  with  difficulty  the  organ.  Thus 
the  principle  is  established,  that  everything  which  strongly  acts 
upon  the  outward  senses  ought  to  be  carefully  excluded  from  the 
service  of  God.  The  Lutherans  have  retained  in  some  of  their 
churches,  as  things  unobjectionable,  the  altar,  the  crucifix,  paint- 
ings and  monuments,  and  even  some  part  of  the  ceremonial  of 
the  mass,  though  without  the  offering.  But  the  evangelical 
churches,  being  peculiarly  places  of  prayer,  are  closed  on  the 
week-days,  and  are  only  opened  when  the  clergyman,  as  the 
centre  of  the  whole,  is  present;  and  thus  the  pious  custom  of 
the  people,  at  whatever  hour  of  the  day  they  passed,  whether 
before  or  after  work,  to  enter  the  church  and  pray,  is,  alas!  for- 
gotten. The  doors  of  the  Lutheran  church  might  surely  have 
been  left  open:  there  the  altar  and  the  crucifix,  as  symbols  of 
the  presence  of  God,  are  still  retained.  Hence  Bossuet*  is  not 
incorrect  in  charging  the  protestants  with  carrying  things  to  ex- 
cess in  this  respect :  he  quotes  a  letter  written  by  Erasmus,  in 
which  the  latter  says  jestingly,  "These  people  burn  the  house,  in 
order  to  clear  it  of  rubbish." 

It  will  be  difficult  to  preserve  this  sober  form  of  protestant 
worship  in  these  later  times  :  originally  it  was  necessary  as  a 
scourge  to  superstition,  but  it  is  not  expressive  of  the  living  feel- 
ing of  believing  man.  As  soon  as  he  finds  himself  on  a  higher 
step  in  the  way  of  spiritual  advancement,  he  thankfully  offers 
his  God  the  best  and  noblest  worship  he  can  practise  or  conceive. 
At  the  same  time  he  occupies  too  lofty  a  stand  to  be  in  danger 
of  falling  into  superstition  ;  and  he  is  as  little  likely  to  yield  to 
its  influence  in  his  worship,  as  he  is  disposed  to  be  superstitious 
in  the  midst  of  the  rich  and  sacred  scenes  of  nature,  where  no 
such  feelings  move  him,  though  all  his  impressions  are  received 
from  outward  things.  It  is  also  probable  that  a  new  spirit,  and 
the  victory  of  Christian  feeling  in   the   protestant  church,  may 

*  Variat.  c.  v.  p.  195. 


414  CHURCH    MUSIC.  [cHAP.  VII. 

restore  the  cross  to  its  place  as  a  symbol ;  and  not  only  in  sacred 
edifices,  but  by  the  roadside,  and  on  the  rocky  summit  of  the 
mountain,  where  the  wanderer,  or  the  traveller  returning  to  his 
home,  may  greet  it  from  afar  and  breathe  his  prayer.  And,  if  the 
works  of  creation  proclaim  to  us  the  glory  of  God,  why  should  not 
this  sign  be  allowed  to  remind  us  of  his  love,  and  of  our  redemp- 
tion from  the  curse  of  sin?  He  who  contemplates  nature  in  her 
glory,  can  readily  imagine  man  passing  his  life  in  paradise ;  but 
he  forgets  that  a  curse  is  resting  upon  the  earth,  and  that  the 
creation  has  shared  the  fall  of  man, — a  thought  expressed  by 
Calvin,  and  which  greatly  affected  Wesley.  In  the  sign  of  the 
cross  we  recognize  the  long  history  of  human  suffering,  the  sal- 
vation offered  to  our  race,  and  that  sad  mystery  of  our  life  which 
faith  alone  can  resolve. 

The  reformers,  who  clearly  understood  what  was  most  im- 
portant to  the  general  edification,  not  only  discontinued  the  use 
of  Latin  in  singing,  but  introduced  the  practice  of  congrega- 
tional singing.  Calvin  expresses  himself  on  this  subject  as  fol- 
lows :* — "If  the  singing  come  not  from  the  heart,  it  is  worth 
nothing,  and  can  only  awaken  God's  wrath.  Singing  in  itself 
is  good  and  useful :  our  tongues  must  praise  God,  and  as  we 
honor  him  by  a  common  faith,  we  must  also  unite  in  glorifying 
him  before  men,  that  they  may  hear  our  confession  of  his  name, 
and  be  inspired  with  the  desire  of  following  our  example.  Sing- 
ing in  the  church  has  been  practised  from  the  earliest  times : 
the  apostle  Paul  recommended  the  use  of  spiritual  songs.  But 
neither  the  ear  nor  the  spirit  must  be  distracted.  Augustine 
remarks,  that  he  preferred  the  style  recommended  by  Athana- 
sius,  which  was  rather  speaking  than  singing :  but  the  latter 
awakened  feelings  in  the  highest  degree  edifying  to  his  soul. 
With  proper  moderation  therefore  the  use  of  singing  is  holy  and 
useful.  Those  melodies  which  are  introduced  merely  to  give 
pleasure,  are  not  agreeable  to  the  majesty  of  the  church,  and  must 
be  infinitely  displeasing  to  God." 

Calvin  therefore  introduced  the  singing  of  psalms  as  soon  as 
possible  into  his  church,  this  being  authorized  by  Scripture,  and 
the  glorious  soul-felt  sublimity  of  the  prophets  filling  liim  with 
delight.  The  French  poet  Marof.  translated  in  the  first  instance 
thirty  of  the  psalms,  and  with  great  ability  ;  he  translated  twenty 
more  in  Geneva:  the  other  hundred  were,  at  Calvin's  request, 
translated  by  Beza.     A  little  time  after,  these  psalms  were  trans- 

*  Instit.  lib.  iii.  c.  «l),  wc.  81,  32. 


A.l).  1541-49.]  CHURCH    MUSIC.  415 

lated  into  German,  and  were  sung  in  many  of  the  German  re- 
formed churches,  and  in  those  of  the  Netherlands.  The  old 
French  version,  to  which  we  have  referred,  is  a  wonderful  pro- 
duction, for  it  is  impressed  with  the  inimitable  characteristics 
of  a  profound  religious  feeling.  All  the  later  translations,  how- 
ever much  more  carefully  executed,  are  useless  when  compared 
with  this.  The  melodies  to  which  they  were  sung  were  ecpially 
simple  and  profound,  and  consequently  inimitable.  Certain  it 
is  that  religious  feeling  has  its  peculiar  language.  The  songs  of 
J.  B.  Rousseau,  even  those  of  Racine  in  Athalie  and  Esther, 
taking  them  all  together,  have  not  the  pathos  of  one  of  these 
old  psalms  ;  nor  will  an  erudite  Stabat  Mater,  in  its  most 
masterly  perfection,  ever  satisfy,  as  they  do,  the  thirst  of  the 
soul  longing  for  salvation.  This  will  account  for  the  deep  im- 
pression which  these  solemn  compositions  made  on  the  minds 
of  even  worldly  men,  and  on  those  of  catholics  in  France  at  the 
time  of  their  appearance.  It  is  highly  characteristic  of  the  spirit 
of  the  age,  that  Marot's  psalms  were  sung  with  success  at  the 
court  of  Francis  I.,  and  later,  at  that  of  Francis  II.,  and  the  for- 
midable Catherine.  Every  one  at  the  court  had  his  favorite 
psalm,  which  he  sang  in  the  style  most  pleasing  to  himself. 
Catherine  of  Medicis  herself  followed  this  custom.  King  Henri 
II.  sang,  while  hunting,  the  psalm,  "  As  the  hart  panteth  after 
the  water-brooks ;"  and  the  king  of  Navarre,  "  Lord  avenge 
me,"  &c.  The  Sorbonne  sought  in  vain  to  persuade  Francis  to 
suppress  the  translation.  Even  in  Paris  the  congregational 
singing  of  psalms  produced  the  deepest  impression  upon  the 
people,  when  first  made  acquainted  w7ith  the  earnest,  solemn 
melodies  to  which  the  sacred  words  were  set.  Such  sins'inor 
therefore  in  the  French  language  was  soon  after  forbidden,  a 
penalty  of  two  hundred  francs  being  exacted  of  any  one  who 
should  break  this  law. 

In  Germany  also  those  hymns  only  are  effective  in  the  church 
which  were  composed  in  times  of  strong  religious  excitement. 
The  old  hymns  as  now  altered  are  like  venerable  gothic  edifices, 
with  modern  additions,  or  covered  with  glaring  paint.  Our 
Luther,  who  had  a  genuine  musical  feeling,  opened  the  path  for 
German  church-singing,  and  his  whole  soul  poured  itself  won- 
derfully forth  in  the  mystery  of  this  noble  art.  Calvin  has  only 
left  some  few  remarks  in  praise  of  music.  Luther  in  this  re- 
vpect  stands  higher:  he  would  not  separate  the  art  from  reli- 
gion, and  in  the  preface  to  his  spiritual  songs  he  says,  "  I  am 


41b'  CHURCH    MUSIC.  [CHAP.  VII 

not  of  opinion  that  all  kinds  of  art  should  be  cast  down  and  trod- 
den under  foot  by  the  Gospel,  as  some  fanatics  would  have  it ; 
but  I  would  have  all  the  arts,  especially  that  of  music,  devoted  to 
it,  and  employed  in  its  service." 

It  was  a  happy  circumstance  that  a  Lucas  Cranach  lived  at 
Wittenberg  in  Luther's  time.  He  had  it  in  his  power  to  repre- 
sent all  I  he  great  evangelical  characters  and  events  of  the  time 
in  his  pictures,  and  in  doing  so  he  greatly  promoted  the  value  of 
his  art.  In  France,  in  Geneva  and  Zurich,  there  wad  no  such  a 
man,  and  an  indifference  to  painting  was  the  consequence. 

To  the  assertion,  however,  so  frequently  advanced,  that  the  ref- 
ormation was  peculiarly  hostile  to  the  development  of  art,  be- 
cause the  service  which  it  established  does  not  require,  as  that 
of  the  catholic  church,  any  aid  of  this  kind,  any  such  means  for 
exciting  devotion,  or  exhibiting  the  invisible  ideal  under  visible 
forms  for  the  edifying  of  the  people;  or  because,  on  the  other 
side,  the  reformation  promotes  thought  and  inquiry,  which  are 
enemies  to  imagination,  and  has  therefore  produced  philosophers 
and  artistic  theorists,  but  no  great  practical  artists, — to  the  as- 
sertion thus  advanced,  the  fact  itself  is  directly  opposed.  The 
protestant  church  has  never  been  a  mere  negative  antagonism 
to  error,  but  is  a  living  and  divine  energy,  essential  to  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world,  and  has  only  degenerated  into  a  cold  principle 
of  thought  where* the  vital  faith  has  ceased.  Wherever  the  living 
breath  of  an  original  power  is  felt,  there  too  will  poetry  and  art 
be  ever  in  process  of  development.  This  poetic  force  was  not  ex- 
pressed or  shown  in  the  earlier  struggles  of  the  protestant  church, 
because  the  service  then  introduced  was  too  simple  to  need  the 
aid  of  the  painter  ;  but  there  is  another  province  of  art.  that  of 
poetic  power,  and  in  this  the  catholic  church  has  no  religion-  epda 
like  the  protestant  church.  And  where  has  music  ever  cherished, 
nobler  or  sublimer  spirits  than  those  produced  by  the  latter  .'  If 
sculpture,  painting,  and  architecture  were  for  some  time  but.  little 
regarded  in  the  protestant  church,  may  not  this  be  attributed  to 
deeper  and  more  general  causes?  Even  catholic  countries  were 
scarcely,  at  the  period  referred  to.  much  more  fruitful  in  this  re- 
spect, the  power  of  faith  being  universally  depressed.  J  Jut  it  is 
beyond  dispute,  that  a  poetic  energy  has  grown  out  of  our  poor, 
our  dry  and  abused  church  ;  and  that,  consequently,  this  living 
spirit  will  return  as  soon  as  the  new  spiritual  edifice  shall  be  prop1 
erly  advanced. 

Fvident  is   the  folly  of  those  artists  who,    belonging   to    the 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CHURCHES    CONTRASTED.  417 

evangelical  communion,  treat  with  contempt  the  peculiar  and 
original  energy  of  their  church,  the  lofty  poesy  of  the  reforma- 
tion, and  the  reformed,  and  who  embrace  the  catholic  belief  to 
awaken  their  artistic  genius  by  a  stroke  of  magic,  by  the  outward 
influences  of  a  worship  which,  now  dead  in  itself,  only  lives  by 
means  of  a  dazzling  poetic  ornament. 

The  constitution  of  the  catholic  church  attaches  its  members 
to  the  priesthood  by  the  practice  of  confession  ;  but  it  unites 
them  with  the  church  itself,  which  alone  confers  salvation,  by  a 
belief  in  the  treasures  of  the  good  works  of  the  saints,  and  which 
it  has  the  power  of  dispensing  to  its  people.  The  merit  of  good 
works,  of  pilgrimages,  of  asceticism,  of  the  worship  of  saints,  of 
prayer  to  the  mother  of  God,  whose  intercession  is  so  much  de- 
sired, is  intimately  connected  with  this  fundamental  idea.  By 
the  principle  of  individual  liberty,  asserted  among  protestants,  the 
bond  between  the  clergy  and  the  people  must  necessarily  be 
loosened.  So  too  the  idea  of  the  merit  of  good  works  falls  to  the 
ground,  through  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  In  the  re- 
formed church  every  one  must  labor  for  his  own  salvation,  not 
the  church  for  him.  "Another  cannot  believe  for  you,"  says 
Luther ;  and  it  is  faith  only  which  justifies. 

The  union  of  the  clergy  with  the  people  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  attractive  characteristics  of  the  catholic  institution. 
But  even  this,  under  the  power  of  the  hierarchy,  was  capable  of 
being  perverted  to  injurious  ends.  Luther's  Confession*  shows 
how  the  church  employed  it,  and  wounded  the  consciences  of 
those  who  confessed  their  sins,  without  affording  them  any  com- 
fort. Still  pastoral  care  is  impossible  without  confession.  Luther 
accordingly  allowed  a  free  confession  to  be  practised.  The  care  of 
souls  therefore  is  easier  for  the  Lutheran  than  for  the  Calvinistic 
clergy  ;  since  where  the  practice  is  not  consecrated  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  church,  it  will  be  difficult  for  the  minister  to  produce 
the  necessary  dispositions  by  the  mere  personal  influence  which 
he  may  possess.  Wesley  found  it  necessary  to  restore  the  use 
of  confession. t  Calvin  himself  felt  the  mischief  of  a  sepa- 
ration of  the  clergy  from  the  people,  and  very  often  recom- 
mended a  free  confession,  which  never,  however,  prevailed  in  his 
church,  in  order  by  this,  and  the  visitation  of  the  sick,  to  com- 
pensate for  the  want  of  the  other.  The  same  object  was  con- 
templated in  the   admonitions  which    the   censors   or  elders   ad- 

*  Luther's  Werke,  Auswalil,  t.  x.  pp.  334-46. 
f  See  Southey's  Life  of  Wesley. 

vol.  i. — 27 


418  CHURCHES    CONTRASTED.  [CHAP.  VII 

dressed  to  the  people  in  their  own  homes,  a  practice  which  Calvin 
instituted  some  years  later,  when  he  saw  how  little  profit  the 
people  gained  from  church-going',  or  from  mere  public  preaching. 
But  these  private  visits  can  never  simply  the  obligation  of  regular 
confession,  which  converts  the  connection  between  the  people  of 
the  parish  and  the  pastor  into  that  of  a  father  and  his  children, 
and  necessarily  creates  and  establishes  confidence. 

And  further :  not  only  must  that  earnest  feeling  which  proceeds 
from  this  relation  be  more  or  less  sacrificed  in  the  protestant 
church,  but  also  that  joyous  life  which  was  connected  with  the 
catholic  festivals,  and  which  Zwingli,  Farel,  and  Calvin  so  dis- 
turbed by  their  abridgment  of  the  holidays.  Thus,  while  the 
Lutheran  church  retained  even  the  least  of  the  festivals  in  the 
ecclesiastical  year,  the  reformed  church  could  with  difficulty  retain 
the  four  high  festivals,  the  preachers  not  even  alluding  to  the  rest 
in  their  discourses.  Calvin  was  neither  in  favor  of,  nor  absolutely 
against,  the  festivals  ;  but  was  obliged  to  yield  to  the  common 
wish  of  the  people.*  He  was  once  slanderously  accused  of  wish- 
ing to  abolish  the  Sabbath  :  against  this  statement  he  defended 
himself,  and  showed  in  a  letter  to  Haller  how  the  report  arose. 
Farel  and  Viret  had  at  first  pursued  the  practice  of  noticing  the 
festivals  which  had  occurred  in  the  week,  on  the  following  Sun- 
day. After  the  expulsion  of  the  ministers,  these  festivals  were 
celebrated  on  the  original  days.  On  Calvin's  return,  and  when 
he  was  strenuously  endeavoring  to  establish  his  reformation  ac- 
cording to  the  Gospel,  he  appointed,  though  regarding  the  obser- 
vation of  the  festivals  as  a  matter  of  indifference,  certain  hours 
for  prayer  on  those  days,  and  during  which  the  shops  were  to  be 
kept  closed.  At  noon  every  one  was  to  return  to  his  usual  occu- 
pations. Christmas-day  was  the  only  festival  retained.  The 
council,  however,  without  asking  him,  abolished  in  1551  all  the 
attendant  solemnities. 

In  the  Lutheran  church  the  Pericope  have  been  retained  ; 
they  have  vanished  from  the  reformed  church,  and  with  them  all 
marks  of  the  ecclesiastical  year.  Even  the  solemn  evening 
prayer,  by  which  the  church  in  early  times  sought  to  awaken 
the  souls  of  the  people  to  devotion,  has  been  suppressed,  from 
•  the  dread   of  superstition.     But  who  can   fail  to  be  moved  with 

*  In  the  register  of  December  19,  1544,  we  Bud  the  following  notice:— 
"  Cliiistinas-day  shall  be  celebrated  as  usual ;  though  Calvin  lias  represented  to 
the  council  that  it  would  be  as  -well  to  dispense  with  this  festival  as  with  the  other 
three." 


A.D.  1541-49.]  SAINTS    AND    ANGELS.  419 

a  feeling  of  delight,  in  catholic  countries,  when  he  listens  in  the 
evening  to  the  sound  of  the  vesper-bell,  announcing  the  Ave 
Maria,  and  when  he  beholds  every  Christian  around  him  bowed 
in  silent  prayer  !  How  must  he  regret  that  the  stern  reformers, 
when  they  rejected  that  degenerate  devotion,  cast  away  at  the 
same  time  all  that  was  connected  with  it  of  the  true,  the  sublime, 
and  the  beautiful,  and  could  find  nothing  to  supply  its  place  ? 

But  the  superstition  of  the  catholic  church  had  set  forth  the 
worship  of  the  mother  of  God,  with  the  holy  child,  as  the  one 
thing  needful.  It  was  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  that  this 
error  should  be  rooted  out,  before  the  pure  worship  of  God,  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  could  be  restored.  But  protestants,  in  for- 
getting the  mother  of  God,  have  also  forgotten  the  pure  and 
holy  Christian  woman,  and  have  conceived  the  most  angry  dis- 
dain in  contrast  to  the  early  idolatry.  Luther  himself  did  not 
refuse  to  acknowledge  her  high  worth,  but  regarded  her  as 
venerable :  he  greeted  her  with  the  beautiful  words,  "  Thou 
highly-favored,"  (fee,  interpreting  the  whole  of  the  song  with 
an  expression  of  deep  feeling.  Calvin  also,  though  not  espe- 
cially distinguishing  her,  yet  always  mentions  her  name  with 
reverence  and  tenderness :  he  calls  her  "  the  glorious  Virgin," 
la  glorieuse  Vierge.  What  place  the  Holy  Ghost  will  give  to  the 
mother  Mary,  in  the  development  of  the  new  church,  time  will 
show. 

What  we  have  said  of  the  holy  Virgin  will  equally  apply  to  all 
the  saints.  That  there  is  a  holy  band,  that  they  pray  for  us, 
and  that  their  prayer  has  its  effect,  is  certain.  Hence  the  beauti- 
ful conviction  of  Calvin,  that  the  angels  and  saints  are  continually 
watching  over  us.  But  the  protestant  church,  in  order  to  uproot 
abuses,  has,  alas  !  banished  the  memory  of  the  saints  from  our 
belief,  and  this,  though  we  profess  in  our  confession  to  acknowl- 
edge the  communion  of  saints  in  heaven.  It  is  only  very  lately 
that  the  funeral  solemnities  have  been  allowed  their  proper  place 
in  the  Prussian  church  Agende,  and  with  them  the  prayer  for  the 
dead  ;  and  this  has  been  done  rather  from  a  patriotic  than  a  reli- 
gious motive.  The  remembrance,  however,  of  those  who  have 
fallen  in  war,  naturally  associates  itself  with  that  of  those  who 
earlier  died  the  death  of  the  blessed. 

The  monastic  life  necessarily  ceased  with  the  belief  in  the  merit 
of  good  works. 

Calvin  found   the  convents  already  destroyed  when   he  came 


420  MONASTIC    INSTITUTIONS.  [CHAP.  VII. 

to  Geneva.  The  Benedictine  monastery  of  St.  Victor,  where  a 
few  monks  of  the  order  of  Clugni  resided,  but  who  embraced 
the  reformed  doctrine,  was  early  suppressed  :  their  abbot,  was 
the  celebrated  Bonnivard,  so  long  a  prisoner  in  the  castle  of  Chil- 
lon.  The  Dominican  and  Augustin  monasteries  were  also  de- 
stroyed with  the  district  of  St.  Victor.  This  suppression  of  the 
convents  was  necessary  at  the  time  ;  but  no  Christian  mind  will 
refuse  to  confess,  that  there  is  something  consolatory  in  the  idea 
of  monastic  life,  in  that  escape  from  the  distractions  of  the 
world,  which  might  allow  the  wearied  spirit  to  give  itself  up,  for 
some  few  years,  in  quietness  to  God  ;  and  thai  it  is  the  abuse 
only,  the  excess,  which  deserves  reprobation.  Places  of  refuge 
are  as  necessary  for  the  sick  in  mind  as  for  the  sick  in  body, — for 
those  who  can  find  neither  rest  nor  help  in  the  world,  and  who  can 
no  longer  feel  at  home  there,  because,  occupied  with  its  business 
and  its  pleasures,  it  cannot  understand  their  sorrows.  The  notion 
of  the  merit  of  works  was  the  sin,  and  the  vow  for  life  was  the 
abuse,  of  these  institutions.  An  existence,  subjected  for  some 
years  to  rule,  and  spent  under  spiritual  inspection  and  guidance, 
is  for  the  sick  in  soul,  suffering  under  the  consciousness  of  sin  and 
fully,  and  thirsting  in  the  long  struggle  of  faith  for  help,  an  un- 
speakable benefit,  nay  an  almost  indispensable  necessity.  Yet 
three  centuries  have  passed  away,  and  the  evangelical  church 
has  not  yet  felt  itself  free  enough  to  understand  this  language 
again,  and  to  establish,  on  a  protestant  foundation,  Christian  so- 
cieties for  these  sublime  objects.  The  want  was  felt  even  in  Wes- 
ley's lime.* 

The  idea  of  monastic  life  was  once  revived  in  Geneva  after 
the  reformation.  In  the  year  1666  a  proposal  was  made  to  es- 
tablish a  rctraite  spirituelle,  or  a  convent  for  single  women  ;  but 
the  plan  was  never  adopted.  A  glance  at  a  man  who  appeared 
in  France  soon  after  Calvin's  time,  and  who  did  for  the  revival 
of  monastic  life,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word,  thai  which 
our  own  church  reformers  ought  to  have  done  among  us,  shows 
plainly  what  a  fair  side  there  was  even  in  the  catholic  develop- 
ment of  Christianity.  This  man  was  Vincentius  of  Paula,  raised 
up  by  Providence  in  times  of  discord  and  terror,  to  afford  some 
measure  of  help  to  distracted  fiance.  Vincentius  recognized 
the  pure  apostolic  spirit  of  Scripture  :  he  availed  himself  of  the 
last  sparks  of  divine  fire  which  still  glimmered  under  the  ashes 
*  See  Southey's  Life  of  Wesley. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  VINCENTIUS    OP    PAULA.  421 

in  his  church,  and  fanned  them  into  a  holy  flame.  He  was  all 
love  ;  and  while  Calvin  always  proves  himself  the  stern,  severe 
enemy  of  error,  Vincentius  overlooked  all  errors,  knew  nothing 
of  polemics,  and  only  desired  to  accomplish  good  by  the  most 
benevolent  means,  and  to  do  his  duty  in  the  position  in  which 
he  stood.  Calvin  stormed  against  sinners,  and  those  enemies 
who  sought  by  destroying  him  to  destroy  the  Gospel.  Vincen- 
tius, on  the  contrary,  once  knelt  down  before  a  man  who  had 
given  him  a  box  on  the  ear,  openly  in  the  street,  and  begged 
his  pardon  if  he  had  injured  him.  By  this  act  of  Christian 
humility  he  converted  his  enemy.  The  one  would  have  truth, 
without  which  no  love  is  possible  ;  the  other  would  have  love, 
which  leads  to  truth.  The  former  laid  the  axe  to  the  root  of 
the  corrupt  tree,  and  thus  awakened  the  new  fresh  life,  through 
which  Catholicism  even  was  re-invigorated,  while  without  it  prot- 
estantism could  never  have  borne  any  fruit.  All  must  yield  to 
his  stroke,  because  all  was  infected  with  error.  Vincentius,  on 
the  other  hand,  showed  how  the  spirit  of  Christian  love  could 
diffuse  a  blessing,  even  amid  the  restraints  of  superstition  and 
the  abuses  of  monastic  life,  and  of  what  self-devotion  a  man 
might  be  capable,  though  a  monk.  The  order  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  which  he  established,  rose  again,  in  its  purity  and  gentle- 
ness, to  light,  from  the  very  slough  of  the  revolution  :  so  also  the 
House  of  Lazarus,  La  Retraite  iSpirituelle,  founded  by  him,  bore 
glorious  fruit  even  to  the  end  of  the  last,  century.  The  follow- 
ing generation  ought  to  have  considered  these  facts,  and  imi- 
tated the  example  thus  set.  Wesley  shows  us  that  a  voluntary 
resignation  and  subjection  to  a  strict  rule,  but  without  vows, 
may  produce  noble  results,  and  beyond  all  expectation,  on  the 
path  of  protestantism.  The  methodists  at  first  established  free 
unions  for  the  diffusion  of  their  faith,  and  Franciscus  of  Assisi 
never  received  a  profounder  obedience  from  his  followers  than 
did  Wesley.  But  instead  of  endeavoring  to  give  this  noble, 
practical  tendency  to  the  church,  Calvin's  dialectic  passion  pre- 
vailed,— salutary,  indispensable  indeed  for  his  own  times,  but  in 
many  respects,  too  one-sided,  and  a  real  phenomenon  in  the 
history  of  the  church.  While  a  pure  apostolic  life  flourished 
under  Vincentius  in  reprobate  France,  the  protestants  were  con- 
tending obstinately  at  Dort,  in  the  reformed  Netherlands,  on 
points  connected  with  the  deep  mystery  of  eternal  election,  and 
were  persecuting    their  opponents,   forgetting,   in    their  zeal  foi 


422  calvin's  practical  character,     [chap.  viii. 

the  moral  reform  which  interested  their  feelings,  that  the  pure 
apostolic  spirit  is  the  true  sign  of  election.* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CALVIN  S    PASTORAL    LABORS. — CHARACTERISTIC    OF  HIS    PRAC- 
TICAL    EFFORTS. HIS     LABORIOUS    LIFE. HIS     EPISTOLARY 

CORRESPONDENCE. — CALVIN    AS    A    PREACHER. 

Having  thus  considered  the  legislation  and  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution introduced  by  Calvin,  we  have  now  to  contemplate  the 
reformer  in  his  theocratic  labors  as  a  pastor;  and  this  leads  us 
to  notice  his  peculiarly  practical  exertions,  and  his  active  course 
of  life,  which  will  complete  the  sketch  of  his  character  as  given 
in  the  first  part  of  the  work. 

As  the  breath  of  eternal  life  seems  to  breathe  through  the 
whole  of  this  great  man's  undertakings,  so  is  it  most  conspicu- 
ously discoverable  in  his  profound  compassion  for  souls,  and  in 
his  love  for  fallen  humanity.  We  have  not  a  mere  scholar  be- 
fore us,  but  a  feeling  man,  who  exerted  his  Utmost  strength  for 
all,  and  in  every  sphere  desired  the  means  of  employing  his 
active  energies.  Even  his  exegetical  writings  have  a  practical 
tendency  :  his  sermons  insist  upon  a  holy  conduct.  We  may 
even  assert,  that  he  did  more  as  a  practical  man,  than  as  a  theo- 
logian, by  his  system.  His  severity,  the  discipline  and  purity 
which  he  required,  as  well  as  his  own  holy  life,  secured  him  the 
confidence  of  all,  and  thus  the  deed  availed  in  reality  more  than 
the  word. 

Although  his  correct  instinct  led  him  to  embrace  a  true  phi- 

*  Vinccntius  was  born  in  the  village  of  Pony  in  Gascoigne,  in  1  -r'T»'>.  twelve  years 
after  Calvin's  death.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  following  institutions: — 1.  The 
sisterhood  of  charitable  women  for  the  visitation  of  the  poor.  2.  The  Missionary 
Institute  of  France,  for  the  revival  of  the  church.     8.  The  Ho*pice  det  Magdelainet. 

4.  The  institution  of  Priest-Conferences  for  tho  admonition  of  the  youngerclergy. 

5.  A  Foundling  Hospital.  6.  The  House  of  Lazarus,  in  which  principally  priests 
•were  prepared  as  missionaries  to  go  about  the  country,  and  re-awaken  by  their  ser- 
mons the  slumbering  piety  of  the  people.  7.  The  institution  for  the  conversion  of 
females.  The  members  were  the  Sceurs  de  Ckariti,  and  the  institution  has  excited  the 
admiration  even  of  infidels.     And  8.  The  seminary  for  young  theologians. 


a.d.  1541-49.]   calvin's  practical  character.  423 

losophy,*  as  not  inconsistent  with  faith,  yet  he  always  found  it 
necessary  to  oppose  those  philosophers  whose  systems  had  more 
to  do  with  the  head  than  the  heart.  It  is  characteristic  of  him, 
that  the  logical  force  of  his  mind,  which  carried  thought  to  its 
utmost  limits,  is  contrasted  with  a  child-like  simplicity  in  the  con- 
duct of  his  daily  life.  The  commonest  domestic  circumstances 
were  attended  to  by  him  with  almost  the  same  earnestness  and 
zeal  as  a  dogmatic  system. 

His  early  study  of  jurisprudence  may  have  given  him  this  love 
for  the  practical ;  and  though  he  had  no  taste  for  the  science  in 
his  youth,  he  was  chiefly  indebted  to  it  for  the  great  foresight, 
the  skill  and  penetration,  which  rendered  his  council  in  all  the 
affairs  of  life  so  valuable,  uniting  as  he  did  Christian  rectitude 
with  prudence.  As  an  example  of  the  zeal  with  which  he  devoted 
his  attention  to  the  smallest  as  well  as  to  the  greatest  concerns, 
making  this  the  rule  of  his  conduct,  we  instance  the  care  with 
which,  while  pressed  with  important  business,  he  recommended  a 
servant-maid  to  Farel.  Numberless  points  occur  in  his  corre- 
spondence with  the  count  of  Fallais,  whom  he  invited  to  Geneva, 
and  let  him  a  house  with  a  garden  for  twelve  dollars.  He  fur- 
ther arranged  that  he  was  to  be  responsible  for  the  repairs,  in 
case  he  bought  it,  and  was  to  pay  forty  dollars.  The  garden 
and  vineyard  were  especially  noticed.  He  sent  him  the  new- 
made  wine,  bought  and  sold  a  ton  of  superior  wine,  &c.  Many 
other  little  matters  are  spoken  of  which  he  might  easily  have  left 
to  his  wife,  but  which  show  how  circumspectly,  prudently  and 
usefully  he  would  have  acted  in  whatever  station  he  had  been 
placed.  His  correspondence  contains  a  vast  number  of  letters  of 
recommendation  written  for  different  young  people,  whom  he 
particularly  recommended  to  Viret  in  Lausanne,  knowing  that 
they  might  most  readily  obtain  support  in  Bern.  These  letters 
are  composed  with  great  care  and  indulgence. 

In  the  dedication  of  his  works,  he  had  always  in  view  the 
especial  practical  end  of  forming  a  friendship  with  the  chief 
men  in  Europe,  and  rousing  them  to  a  conscientious  effort  for 
the  kingdom  of  God.  This  is  illustrated  by  his  epistles  to 
Francis  I.  and  the  kings  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  others. 
There  was  an  especial  worth  in  this  ;  and  the  dedications  con- 
tinued to  exercise  their  influence,  even  when  the  persons  to 
whom  they  were  addressed  had  no  further  intercourse  with  him, 


See  Ep.  xciv.  to  Bucer.  Anist.  p.  50. 


424  calvin's  literary  labors.  [chap.  viii. 

or  the  church,  as  was  the  case  with  the  lord  of  Fallais.  Nor  did 
he  refuse  the  correspondence  of  children  or  women.  His  letter 
to  Ann,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Protector  of  Kngland,  is  writ- 
ten in  the  gentlest,  style,  and  shows  well  how  skilfully  he  could 
accommodate  his  earnest  feelings  to  the  youthful  mind. 

It  may  be  said  of  Calvin  that  he  was  one  of  the  few  great 
men  with  whom  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  live,  supposing  our 
intentions  good.  His  character  was  fixed  :  he  ever  acted  accord- 
ing to  principle,  without  changeableness  or  caprice.  It  was  only 
when  he  stood  opposed  to  those  whose  will  was  perverse  and 
wicked  that  he  was  irritable  and  passionate.  This  was  frequently 
the  case  in  the  proceedings  of  the  consistory.  Hence  the  little 
instances  of  moroseness  which  occur  in  the  state-protocols,  and 
which  expose  his  memory,  even  to  the  present  day,  to  much 
hatred  and  calumny. 

It  is  impossible  to  look  without  wonder  at  the  literary  labors  of 
the  reformers,  Calvin,  Melancthon  and  Luther.  None  of  them 
was  far  advanced  in  years,*  but  each  had  written  remarkable  and 
masterly  volumes  ;  and  amid  what  cares,  distractions  and  strug- 
gles !  All  three  were  employed  as  academical  instructors ;  two 
of  them  as  ministers  and  preachers.  Luther  brought  up  seven 
children,  and  Calvin  had  to  contend  with  the  most  distressing 
bodily  sufferings. 

Calvin's  whole  life  was  spirit;  the  bodily  element  was  greatly 
subdued  in  him.  But  notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  his  life, 
he  lived  more  than  many  whose  course  is  long,  since  he  lost  no 
time  in  useless  sleep,  of  which,  like  other  extraordinary  men,  he 
required  but  little.  When  the  day  had  been  wholly  occupied  in 
business,  the  quiet  hours  of  the  night  remained  to  him,  and, 
allowing  himself  a  brief  repose,  he  would  continue  his  labors. 
In  his  later  years  his  spirit  was  not  in  the  least  degree  troubled 
or  weakened,  as  was  the  case  with  Luther,  in  the  last  weary 
years  of  his  life.  Calvin's  weak  bodily  element  was  at  last  almost 
consumed  by  the  inward  fire  of  his  soul.  To  form  some  idea 
of  his  activity,  let  us  look  at  the  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Farel 
from  Strasburg: — "I  remember  no  day  in  this  whole  year  in 
which  I  have  been  so  pressed  with  such  a  variety  of  occupa- 
tions. When  the  messenger  was  prepared  to  take  the  beginning 
of  my  venrk  with  this  letter,  I  had  about  twenty  leaves  to  look 
through       I  had  then  to  lecture  and   preach,  to  write  four  letters, 

*  Luther  was  63,  Melancthon,  60,  Calvin  only  54  years  old. 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  various  employments.  425 

make  peace  between  some  persons  who  had  quarrelled  with  each 
other,  and  answer  more  "than  ten  people  who  came  to  me  for 
advice.     Forgive  me  therefore  if  I  write  only  briefly  of  things." 

In  addition  to  his  literary  employments,  he  had  in  Geneva  the 
customary  engagements  of  which  we  have  spoken, — the  business 
of  the  court  of  morals  or  the  consistory,  that  arising  from  the 
assembly  of  the  clergy,  and  His  connection  with  the  congregation. 
Three  days  in  the  week  he  lectured  on  theological  subjects,  and 
every  alternate  week  he  preached  daily.  His  excellent  memory 
was  a  great  help  to  him  in  all  these  labors.  It  is  reported  that 
he  never  forgot  anything  which  pertained  to  his  office,  however 
much  disturbed  on  all  sides,  or  oppressed  with  applications. 
When  writing  a  work,  he  could  suspend  the  labor,  devote  some 
hours  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  then  resume  the  thread  of 
his  discourse,  without  being  obliged  to  read  over  what  he  had 
written. 

An  enemy  to  long  speeches  and  useless  words,  he  had,  by  the 
help  of  his  lively  genius,  which  was  sharpened  by  study  and  the 
habit  of  dictation,  acquired  the  habit  of  giving  quick,  brief,  con- 
clusive and  dignified  answers,  and  of  speaking,  generally,  not 
much  otherwise  than  he  wrote. 

As  one  of  the  watchmen  of  Israel,  he  was  in  perpetual  con- 
flict with  secret  and  open  enemies,  so  that  Wolfgang  Musculus 
compared  him  to  a  bow  always  strung.  He  carried  on  a  corre- 
spondence which  extended  over  all  Europe,  and  still  found  time 
to  translate  most  of  his  own  learned  works  himself.  He  formed 
and  sent  forth  preachers.  The  council  charged  him  with  numer- 
ous weighty  affairs.  He  had  frequent  journeys  to  perform, 
and  was  consulted  on  all  important  subjects.  These  various 
occupations  he  continued  to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  even  under- 
took occasionally  the  duty  of  his  brother  ministers,  if  the  neces- 
sities of  the  church  called  them  to  a  distance.  He  was  never 
happier,  according  to  his  own  statement,  than  when  he  was 
obliged  to  do  many  and  important  things.  That  he  also  took 
his  share  in  the  concerns  of  the  city  itself,  we  learn  from  the 
zeal  with  which  he  exerted  himself  during  the  plague;  and  after- 
wards, when  the  city  in  1559  feared  a  siege,  he  set  an  example 
to  the  citizens  by  uniting  with  the  professors  and  preachers  in 
laboring  at  the  fortifications.  Let  us  add  to  all  this,  the  con- 
sideration of  his  extraordinary  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of 
his  pastoral  duties,  and  how,  for  instance,  he  would  not  absent 
himself  from   his  charge  even  while  his  wife  was  lying  on  her 


426  calvin's  various  employments.  [chap.  viii. 

death-bed.  It  was  but  seldom  that  he  complained  of  the  exces- 
siveness  of  his  labors,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  do  all  for  his 
friends.  If  they  sent  him  their  works  to  look  through,  he  would 
find  time,  he  said,  to  do  it  in  the  long  nights.  And  yet,  impressed 
with  a  feeling  of  duty,  lie  speaks  of  his  little  labor;  and  in  the 
discourse  which  he  addressed,  while  dying,  to  the  council,  he 
refers  with  great  humility  to  his  exertions.  He  seems  sometimes, 
at  an  earlier  period,  to  have  had  no  feeling  of  his  activity,  be- 
cause he  was  sensible  in  himself  of  having  still  more  force,  and 
greater  energies  than  he  had  occasion  to  employ.  He  worked 
with  great  rapidity,  as  he  shows  in  his  statement  respecting  his 
treatise  against  Sadolet.  "I  have  not  been  able"  he  says,  "to 
complete  the  translation  of  my  address  to  Sadolet,  for  it  was  the 
labor  of  a  whole  day."  It  appears  however  that  he  was  not 
always  to  the  same  humor  for  every  kind  of  work:  some  things 
therefore  would  lie  a  long  while  unfinished.* 

Calvin  readily  let  his  friends  see  his  works  before  he  gave  them 
to  the  public.  Farel  appears  to  have  enjoyed  his  especial  con- 
fidence in  this  respect.  Thus  he  writes  to  him,  Dec.  28,  1547, 
during  the  troubled  times  of  the  Interim,  and  the  disturbances 
in  Geneva: — "My  Antidote  to  the  Tridentine  Decrees  begins 
already  to  afford  me  some  satisfaction,  seeing  that  it  pleased 
you  so  well,  even  before  I  was  myself  contented  with  it.  Know- 
ing my  daily  toils  and  struggles,  which  do  not  merely  assail. 
but  may  rather  be  said  to  consume  me,  you  are  perhaps  in- 
clined to  excuse  its  want  of  perfection.  I  cannot  but  feel  sur- 
prised that  anything  worth  reading  should  fall  from  my  pen." 
He  was  especially  anxious  to  have  Farel's  judgment  on  every 
point  connected  with  his  exposition  of  the  Book  of  Genesis:  he 
sent  to  him  at  the  same  time  the  contents  of  his  work  '  De  Scan- 
dalis.' 

In  a  letter  to  Farel,  dated  August,  1545,t  he  describes  how 
greatly  he  was  affected  by  the  interest  which  his  friend  Des 
Gallars,  whom  he  highly  valued,  took  in  his  labors: — "If  you 
find  that  Catoli  is  convinced  of  his  error,  you  must  thank  me 
and  Gallasius  for  it.  Little  was  wanting  to  induce  me  to  let 
him  bark  on  without  interruption,  For  I  feared  that  the  kind  of 
argument  we    should    employ   might    awaken    Buspicioo   among 

*  Ep.  MSS.  Gen.  Oct.  1546.  "The  Essay  'De  Scandalis'  was  for  some  time  dis- 
continued for  my  thoughts  would  not  flow,  ami  I  had  no  heart  to  resume  it  till  I 
had  finished  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians."  Other  riMnarks  occur  to  the  same 
etlect. 

f  MSS.  Gen. 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  infirm  health.  427 

some.  The  die  however  is  now  cast :  may  the  affair  prosper  ! 
I  was  rejoiced  indeed  when  we  had  once  begun,  and,  free  from 
restraint,  flew  at  once  to  the  conclusion.  The  only  cause  of  this 
facility  was,  that,  under  a  feigned  name,  I  could  play  with  more 
ease  and  gaiety."* 

Several  indications  occur  of  his  bad  health,  which  obliged  him 
to  make  the  greatest  exertions  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  active 
life.  Thus  he  writes  to  Viret,  May  3,  1548:  "When  our  Merlin 
came  yesterday,  he  found  me  in  bed  :  I  was  suffering  from  a 
headache  ;  for  three  days  I  had  struggled  against  it,  but  the 
disorder  at  last  conquered.  Nevertheless  I  got  up  and  went  to 
the  messenger  from  Bern.  Soon  after  seven  I  returned  ;  but  I 
felt  that  the  unpleasant  motion  of  the  horse,  and  my  having  been 
too  long  without  food,  had  done  me  harm.  The  pain  returned, 
and  more  sharply  than  before.  I  preached  with  great  difficulty  : 
this  done,  I  went  immediately  to  bed.  I  have  told  you  all  this, 
that  you  might  excuse  my  too  long  delay." 

To  Farel  he  writes.t  Feb.  4,  1550  :  "  The  whole  time  our  Thomas 
was  here  I  was  cruelly  persecuted  by  a  cough  or  cold.  I  am  now 
troubled  with  an  ague,  but  about  an  hour  ago  it  began  to  leave 
me.  It  is  well  that  I  do  not  cease  to  drag  myself  about  hither  and 
thither,  and  to  fulfil  my  most  necessary  duties :  but  I  do  it  but 
slowly,  according  to  my  ideas,  and  much  time  is  lost  which  ought 
to  be  employed  in  useful  labors." 

In  a  letter  which  he  wrote  shortly  before  his  death  to  the  phy- 
sicians at  Montpellier,  he  shows  what  a  host  of  sufferings  had 
assailed  him  in  his  latter  years,  and  it  astounds  us  to  find  that, 
with  bodily  organs  so  shaken,  the  force  of  his  spirit  could  accom- 
plish so  much.  Seven  different  disorders  are  mentioned  as  com- 
bining their  strength  to  crush  him  at  the  last,  but  which  he  bore 
with  the  utmost  patience.  The  real  greatness  of  the  man  is 
shown  in  his  agony  :  he  lets  no  vain  complaint  escape  him,  but 
speaks  of  his  body  as  of  a  strange  elemeut.+ 

*  The  author  observes  on  this,  that  he  cannot  determine  -with  any  certainty 
to  what  writing  Calvin  here  alludes.  He  thinks  it  possible  the  reference 
might  he  to  a  work  which  appeared  under  the  name  of  Des  Gallars,  entitled 
'  Pro  Gul.  Farello  et  Collegia  ejus  adversua  Petri  Caroli  Theologastri  Calum- 
nias,  Dcfensio  Nicolai  Gallasii.'  8vo.  1545.  (Seneb.  t.  1.  p.  34'2.)  Dea  Gal- 
lars was  subsequently  a  preacher  in  Paris  and  London.  He  was  with  Beza  in 
Poissy,  presided  at  the  synod  held  in  Talis  in  1565,  and  lastly  was  preacher  to  the 
queen  of  Navarre.  1571. 

f  MS.  Goth.  Bretschn.  p.  2'J.  He  also  writes  on  the  subject  of  his  ill  health  to 
Farel,  Nov.  18,  1549.  "  Donio  nun  sum  egressus  quia  hemicrania  jam  triduum  me 
atrociter  infestawt," 

|  See  the  Amsterdam  edition  of  his  works,  t.  ix.  p.  PI2.  Also  Ed.  Laus. 
Ep.  343. 


428         calvin's  epistolary  correspondence,    [chap.  viii. 

It  is  one  of  Calvin's  characteristics,  well  worthy  of  notice, 
that  he  felt  (he  necessity  of  constantly  communicating  with  his 
friends.  Hence  arose  his  numerous  correspondence,  which  was 
also  the  medium  by  which  he  kept  up  his  connection  with  the 
whole  church,  and  exercised  a  universal  influence.  Thus  we  find 
letters  of  all  kinds  and  on  all  subjects;  they  amount  to  about 
twelve  hundred.  The  opinions  expressed  in  them  have  been 
already  indicated.  Many  of  his  letters  are  still  dispersed  about : 
they  are  not  always  of  importance,  but  simply  show  the  neces- 
sity which  he  felt  of  living  with  his  friends.  Luther,  in  his  let- 
ters, keeps  more  to  one  great  object  which  he  had  in  view,  writes 
numerous  business  letters,  and  perpetually  repeats  the  grand 
ideas  which  moved  his  spirit.  He  was  less  influenced  by  the 
necessity  of  communicating  with  private  or  individual  friends. 
So  too  he  appears  to  have  been  less  regular;  one  might  almost 
say  that  he  was  rough  or  rude  in  this  respect.  He  occasionally 
offended,  by  a  certain  degree  of  coarseness,  that  tenderness  of 
feeling,  which  Calvin,  the  more  polite,  the  more  cultivated  man, 
never  wounded. 

Epistolary  correspondence  was  with  Calvin  so  much  a  duty 
and  necessity,  that  he  would  sometimes,  in  the  midst  of  press- 
ing business,  expend  a  whole  day  in  writing  to  Farel  from  Stras- 
burg,  to  inform  him  what  news  he  had  learnt  from  various  parts 
of  Europe.  Hence  he  would  upbraid  his  friends  if  they  proved 
negligent  in  their  correspondence.  Instances  of  this  occur  in 
many  of  his  letters  to  Viret  and  Farel.  "  Your  negligence  will 
not  be  easily  pardoned,"  he  says.  To  Viret's  excuse  he  answers, 
that,  he  ought  simply  to  have  pleaded  for  forgiveness.  He  often 
wrote  without  any  particular  reason,  but  simply  to  keep  up  his 
correspondence  with  Farel,  who  wished  it,  and  whose  desire  in 
this  respect  Calvin  was  so  glad  to  satisfy. 

But  Calvin's  numerous  correspondence  strikes  us  as  so  much 
the  more  remarkable,  when  we  think  of  the  difficulty  and  ex- 
pense with  which  it  was  carried  on.  Every  letter  which  he 
wrote  had  to  be  conveyed  by  a  special  messenger,  upon  whose 
fidelity  much  depended.  The  messengers  thus  employed  fre- 
quenlly  travelled  on  horseback:  they  were  also  often  detained 
at  the  place  to  which  they  carried  the  letters,  wailing  for  the 
answer.  During  all  this  time  they  were  living  at  the  expense 
of  those  who  scut  them  and  the  reformer  had  not  rarely  to  meet 
the  charges  out  of  his  own  scanty  means.  We  read  in  his  letters 
how  he  was  often  broken  in  upon  in  the  midst  of  his  labors 
by  some  messenger,  who  was  anxious  to  set  off  on  his  journey, 


a.d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  style.  429 

and  for  whom  he  was  obliged  immediately  to  prepare  his  letters. 
Many  letters  were  lost,  and  even  whole  works  which  had  been 
committed  to  the  charge  of  strange  travellers. 

Calvin's  slyle  is  not  to  be  disregarded,  as  illustrative  of  the 
practical  tendency  of  his  character.  It  was  with  him  not  nature 
only,  but  principle,  to  think  and  to  wrile  clearly,  in  short,  intel- 
ligible sentences.  He  scarcely  ever  indulged  in  long  poriods, 
which  would  have  been  difficult  to  the  comprehension  of  a  popu- 
lar assembly.  The  report  circulated  by  some  of  his  admirers, 
that  he  read  the  works  of  Cicero  through  once  a  year,  is  cer- 
tainly false:  no  trace  exists  of  his  having  done  so.  His  senten- 
tious style  moreover  is  formed  rather  on  another  model,  as  on  that 
of  Seneca.  That  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  literature  of 
the  ancients,  though  he  but  rarely  cites  them,  is  proved  by  his 
Latin  style.  The  Latin  language  was  to  him,  as  to  all  the  schol- 
ars of  his  time,  almost  his  mother  tongue,  and  he  seems  to  have 
been  more  perfect  in  it  than  in  the  yet  unpolished  language  of 
his  fatherland.  In  the  former  he "  moves  with  elegance  and 
grace,  and  breathes  forth  his  thoughts  in  harmony  with  the  lan- 
guage ;  while  in  the  latter  he  is  often  harsh  and  perplexed.  That 
tact,  that  delicacy  of  taste,  which  genuine  cultivation  alone  can 
give,  Calvin  possessed  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  our  Luther  ; 
but  still  he  was  greatly  excelled  in  this  respect  by  Melancthon. 
Dignity  of  expression  was  peculiar  to  that  remarkable  man,  as 
we  see  it  exhibited  sometimes  even  by  unlearned  writers,  as  for 
example,  by  some  of  the  New  Testament  writers,  who,  enlight- 
ened and  exalted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  avoided  all  that  rudeness 
and  superfluity  of  sentiments  which  are  so  opposed  to  a  good 
style.  In  profane  literature,  the  Greek  tone  and  spirit  which 
affected,  without  mastering,  Calvin,  have  the  closest  analogy  with 
this  noble  slyle  of  the  holy  Scriptures. 

Calvin's  style,  even  in  his  correspondence,  is  almost  always 
classical  through  its  very  simplicity,  and  this  notwithstanding 
his  carelessness  and  occasional  misuse  of  words.  The  character 
of  a  man  may  be  commonly  discovered  in  his  style:  this  at 
least  was  the  case  with  Calvin.  In  his  mode  of  writing  we  rec- 
ognize the  same  simplicity  and  candor  which  he  shows  in  his 
inward  and  outward  life.  As  he  wrote  without  circumlocution, 
so  spoke  he  in  his  life  ;  and  this  beautiful  simplicity  of  his 
style  appears  still  more  striking,  when  it  is  compared  with  the 
coquettish,  pompous  style  of  the  writers  of  the  following  age. 
We  have  here  also  another  proof  of  the  truth,  that  the  greatest 


430  calvin's  style.  [chap.  viii. 

genius  is  always  the  most  simple.  No  witticisms,  no  play  of 
pretty  antitheses,  no  superfluity  of  words  can  be  found  in  Cal- 
vin :  his  only  object  is  to  make  his  subject,  his  thoughts,  known, 
and  he  always  finds  the  right  word  for  this.  But  his  corres- 
pondence, the  moment  of  trusting  confidence,  the  season  of  re- 
pose, exhibit  most  remarkably  that  clear  simplicity  of  thought 
which  formed  the  groundwork  of  his  whole  being.  With  the 
same  simplicity  he  greeted  the  two  little  daughters  of  his  friend 
Viret,  and  spoke  clearly  and  tranquilly  on  the  important  affair 
of  Servetus  ;  as  if  the  one  was  as  weighty  a  matter  as  the  other, 
the  least  thing  having  with  him  as  much  worth  as  the  greatest, 
all  being  in  his  eyes  equally  great  and  equally  little.*  One  feel- 
ing only  governed  him,  the  feeling  of  duty  :  for  this  alone  he 
lived,  and  this  was  the  ground  both  of  his  greatness  and  his  re- 
pose. A  certain  degree  of  irony,  a  tendency  to  sarcasm,  is 
discoverable,  not  in  his  letters,  but  in  his  polemical  writings  : 
instances  of  this  may  be  found  in  his  work  against  Westphal, 
and  even  in  his  sermons  On  Job.  In  his  purely  theological 
writings,  the  depth  of  his  thoughts,  his  penetration,  and  the 
ardor  of  his  convictions  render  him  eloquent.  He  extempo- 
rized in  the  council  with  irresistible  fire,  and  it  was  here  that 
he  found  the  most  frequent  incitements  to  oratory.  His  per- 
sonal influence  must  have  been  rendered  powerful  by  the  cir- 
cumstances already  related  ;  but  that  he  did  not  study  or  exer- 
cise rhetoric,  as  a  common  art,  may  be  easily  understood  from 
his  character.  He  was  much  too  honest  for  this,  and  had  too 
great  a  contempt  for  all  that  merely  dazzles,  to  employ  useless 
phrases.  Of  his  love  of  brevity  he  himself  says,  in  the  '  Insti- 
tutes,'! "  I  am  by  nature  fond  of  brevity,  and  I  could  not  prob- 
ably attain  to  it,  even  were  I  to  endeavor  to  acquire  a  more 
prolix  style.  Though  it  "might  be  more  agreeable  to  the  reader, 
I  could  not  employ  it ;  the  work  which  I  have  undertaken  re- 
quiring a  pure  and  simple  doctrine,  delivered  with  the  greatest 
brevity.  And  as  philosophers  lay  down  certain  principles,  from 
which  they  derive  all  particular  duties,  and  the  whole  chorus  of 
virtues,  so  also  has  holy  Scripture  its  mode  of  teaching,  which 
is  infinitely  better  and  safer  than  that  of  the  philosophers.  But 
I  here  is  this  distinction  ;  the  latter  are  wholly  influenced  by  am- 
bition and  vanity,  and  have  no  other  end  in  view  but  the  display 

*  See  Drelincourt  on  this  subject,  p.  IU7  ;  and  the  letter  to  Beza,  Ep.  317,  Ed 
Amst.  p.  159. 

•f-   Lib.  iii.  c.  vi.  s.  1. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CALVIN    AS    A    PREACHER.  43l 

of  their  skill  and  the  subtlety  of  their  understanding.  They 
have  accordingly  endeavored  to  give  lustre  to  their  works  by 
a  careful  use  of  method  and  arrangement.  The  Holy  Spirit,  on 
the  contrary,  who  teaches  without  adornment  or  affectation,  has 
not  always  followed  this  strict  order  and  method.  Since  how- 
ever he  has  in  some  cases  done  so,  he  has  taught  us  thereby  that 
we  are  not  wholly  to  despise  them." 

These  remarks,  so  worthy  of  respect,  show  us  how  superior 
this  great  man  was  to  that  species  of  oratorical  art  which  rose  to 
such  a  height  in  France  and  Switzerland,  in  the  time  of  Louis 
XIV.  Calvin,  who,  with  his  methodical  spirit,  allowed  himself 
the  free  development  of  his  ideas,  believed  that  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  moves  the  mind,  is  superior  to  that  ambitious  desire  of 
order  in  thinking,  which  satisfies  the  understanding  but  not  the 
heart,  and  makes  not  men  the  better.  Even  in  his  theological 
and  polemical  works,  which  appear  arranged  with  much  art,  the 
arrangement  is  not  so  exact,  but  that  many  repetitions  are  found 
in  them.  Art  appears  therein  rather  as  the  effect  of  natural 
genius  than  of  design.  In  the  Institutions  which  exhibit  so 
much  method  in  single  parts,  it  is  the  spirit  which  rules,  and 
one  feels  that  the  writer  is  borne  along,  not  by  thought  merely, 
but  by  a  higher  influence  on  the  progress  of  his  ideas.  Beza 
expresses  himself  to  this  effect  on  Calvin's  eloquence,  and  in  his 
observations  on  all  the  various  circumstances  of  his  life.  He 
compares  him  with  Farel  and  Viret,  at  the  time  of  their  first 
appearance,  and  says  of  Calvin,  "  Tot  verba  tot  j)ondera"  De- 
scribing him  in  his  last  years,  he  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  despiser 
of  great  eloquence,  and  sparing  in  words ;  and  as  being  thereby 
so  good  a  writer  that  no  one  at  that  time  had  written  with  more 
dignity,  with  greater  purity  or  acuteness." 

To  me  the  characteristics  of  his  style  appear  most  strikingly 
displayed  in  his  dedication  to  Francis  I.,  in  his  work  against 
Sadolet,  and  in  those  parts  of  the  '  Institutes'  upon  which  he 
employed  most  care. 

As  preaching  is  the  chief  element  in  the  protestant  church,  it 
was  natural  that  the  homeletic  art  should  be  highly  cultivated  in 
it.  But  the  catholics  afterwards  became  the  rivals  of  the  prot- 
estants  in  this  respect,  and  surpassed  them.  Calvin  knew 
nothing  of  that  kind  of  preaching  which  was  subsequently  prac- 
tised in  France, — of  that  species  of  artificial  discourse  which  it 
soon  became  the  indispensable  duty  of  the  preachers  in  the  re- 
formed church  to  deliver.     This  species  of  preaching  among  the 


432  CALVIN    AS    A    PREACHER.  [cilAP.  VIII. 

protectants  reached  its  highest  degree  of  perfection  in  Saurin, 
who  was  celebrated  for  the  force  of  his  reasoning  and  his  ad- 
mirable and  eloquent  applications.  The  fashion  thus  introduced 
si  ill  prevails,  and  it  seems  as  if  the  Gospel  could  only  be  pro- 
claimed in  this  form.  In  Calvin's  time  also  the  French  lan- 
guage, in  respect  to  eloquence,  was  far  behind  the  German. 
The  reverse  was  the  case  at  a  later  period,  and  pulpit  eloquence 
reached  its  perfection  in  France;  while  In  Germany,  after  the 
death  of  Luther,  by  whom  it  had  been  so  successfully  practised, 
it  proportionally  declined.  The  arrangement  of  the  sermons 
of  these  times  has  been  found  fault  with,  and  the  mode  of  de- 
livery continued  to  be  heavy  and  monotonous  up  to  the  present 
age  ;  in  which  the  poets,  having  given  a  new  character  to  the 
language,  and  Luther's  pithy  writings  being  again  read,  the 
French  have  been  frequently  surpassed.  Homeletics  did  not 
exist  at  the  time  of  the  reformation  :  the  art  of  speaking,  or 
speaking  as  an  art,  was  utterly  despised,  and  the  inspired  Word 
only  was  desired.  This  must  be  carefully  borne  in  mind,  to 
form  a  proper  notion  of  Calvin's  method  of  declaring  the  Gos- 
pel. We  cannot  assert  of  those  times  that  the  preachers  were 
confined  to  a  little  circle  of  doctrines,  consisting  of  (he  mete 
elements  of  the  faith;  that  books  of  sermons  treated  simply  of 
belief  and  confession,  and  that  the  same  materials  were  again 
brought  forth  in  the  treatment  of  morals.  Such  an  assertion 
would  certainly  not  be  supported  by  a  reference  to  Luther's 
sermons,  which  abound  in  original,  awakening  and  practical  ideas. 
Still  less  could  it  be  defended  by  an  appeal  to  those  of  Calvin, 
whoalways  avoided  the  excess  of  dogmatic  teaching,  and.  practical 
in  all  things,  he  was  especially  so  in  preaching.  Taking  Scrip- 
ture for  his  guide,  he  follows  its  example,  ami  insists  continually 
on  action.  He  was  also,  for  the  most  part,  attentive  in  his  ser- 
mons to  order  and  arrangement.  Luther,  on  the  other  hand, 
observed  no  particular  form,  but  allowed  himself  perfect  liberty 
both  in  the  plan  and  language  of  his  discourses;  sometimes 
speaking  scholastically,  in  short  sentences,  and  in  an  artificial 
order  ;'  at  others  neglecting  all  order,  and  pouring  out  his 
thoughts  like  a  stream:  sometimes  calmly  instructive,  at  others 
impetuous  and  angry;  sometimes  with,  sometimes  without,  a 
text;  often  very  long,  as  frequently  very  brief,  in  his  sermons; 
allording  indeed  a  true  image  of  his  excitable,  fiery,  rule-defy- 
ing nature.  Calvin  was  far  more  orderly  in  his  discourses:  he 
was  always  full  of  thought,  and  often  exhibited  a  delicate  criti- 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CALVIN    AS    A    PREACHER.  433 

cism,  with  uniform  depth  of  judgment  and  solidity  of  learning. 
No  less  conspicuous  are  the  warmth  and  originality  of  his  ideas 
and  expressions  ;  and  though  a  smile  is  sometimes  provoked,  one 
cannot  follow  without  surprise  and  delight  the  course  of  his 
striking  and  powerful  argument.  Great  naivete,  and  with  it  in- 
genious satirical  applications,  intended  to  render  disbelievers  ridic- 
ulous in  their  own  eyes,  characterize  his  sermons.  His  style  is 
remarkably  simple,  his  method  not  synthetic  ;  such  at  least  is  the 
case  with  his  discourses,  which  commence  with  a  proposition,  from 
which  he  derives  all  the  rest,  generally  by  way  of  analysis;  while 
he  runs  through  whole  books  of  Scripture,  explaining  a  certain 
number  of  sentences  in  an  instructive  manner,  and  closing  the 
whole  with  a  prayer. 

Several  of  his  sermons,  however,  are  on  definite  subjects.  Cal- 
vin's pulpit  exercises  were  generally  weightier  and  more  solemn 
than  those  of  the  German  reformer,  more  impressive  by  the 
force  of  their  inferences  and  striking  sentences.  Luther  often 
unfolded  his  text  dogmatically,  and  returned  to  it.  Calvin  kept 
his  hearers,  and  objections  which  might  be  urged,  more  closely 
in  view,  and  frequently  wandered  far  from  the  text  to  answer  the 
arguments  of  adversaries.  That  which  gives  a  certain  appear- 
ance of  heaviness  to  his  sermons  is  perhaps  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  usually  read  ;  those  who  peruse  them  rarely  considering 
the  discourse  from  beginning  to  end,  or  flying  over  the  whole  as 
it  were  in  spirit,  but  employing  themselves  at  every  step  with 
some  weighty,  striking  thought.  But  every  one  who  reads  him 
must  say,  as  was  said  of  Demosthenes,  "  This  man  is  right." 
However  the  pompous  rhetoricians  under  Louis  XIV.  might  ridi- 
cule his  naive,  simple  manner,  the  time  is  come  in  which  his  rough, 
powerful  style  is  preferred  far  above  those  regular,  rounded,  orna- 
mented periods,  which  were  so  long  regarded  as  the  model  of 
eloquence,  but  which,  instead  of  awakening,  only  weary  and  de- 
press the  soul. 

Calvin  preached  extempore :  it  is  nowhere  mentioned,  at 
least,  that  he  ever  wrote  a  sermon.  He  himself  says  expressly, 
in  an  unpublished  letter,  "  I  did  write  the  twenty-two  sermons 
on  the  eighth  psalm  ;  but  they  have  been  printed  simply  as  they 
could  be  gathered  from  my  mouth,  in  the  church.  You  there 
see  our  style  and  ordinary  mode  of  teaching."  He  frequently 
also  declares,  that  the  power  of  God  could  only  pour  itself  forth 
in.  extempore  speech  ;  and  he  expresses  himself  very  distinctly 
and  beautifully,  in  his  letter  to  Somerset,  against  the  reading  of 

vol.  i.— 28* 


434  CALVIN    AS    A    PREACHER.  [CHAP.  VIII 

sermons.  "  The  people,"  lie  says,  "  must  be  taught  in  such  a 
manner,  that  they  may  be  inwardly  convinced,  and  made  to  feel 
the  truth  of  what  the  Apostle  says,  that  the  Word  of  God  is  '  a 
two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul 
and  spirit,  and  of  (he  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of 
(he  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart."*  I  say  this  to  your 
Highness,  because  there  is  too  little  of  living  preaching  in  your 
kingdom,  sermons  there  being  mostly  read  or  recited.  I  under- 
stand well  enough  what  obliges  you  to  adopt  this  habit.  There 
are  few  good,  useful  preachers,  such  as  you  wish  to  have  ;  and 
you  fear  that  levity  and  foolish  imaginations  might  be  the  con- 
sequence, as  is  often  the  case,  of  the  introduction  of  a  new  system. 
But  all  this  must  yield  to  the  command  of  Christ,  which  orders 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  And  this  preaching  must  not  be 
dead,  but  living,  and  as  Paul  says  to  Timothy,  '  for  doctrine, 
for  correction,  for  edification.'  So  that  when  a  Christian  enters 
the  church,  he  may  be  moved  to  penitence,  and  be  inwardly  con- 
vinced, and  so  feel  himself  led  to  give  honor  to  God.  You 
know  also  how  the  Apostle  speaks  of  the  life  of  the  Word  in  the 
mouth  of  the  true  and  faithful  servants  of  God.  They  ought  not 
then  to  wish  to  shine  in  the  ornaments  of  rhetoric,  or  to  effect 
g;eat  things  thereby  ;  but  the  Spirit  of  God  should  be  echoed  by 
their  voices,  and  so  give  birth  to  virtue.  No  possible  danger  must 
be  permitted  to  abridge  the  liberty  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  prevent 
his  free  course  among  those  whom  He  has  adorned  with  his  graces 
for  the  edifying  of  the  church." 

On  the  power  of  eloquence,  Calvin  says,  "  You  must  take  care, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  have  good  trumpets,  such  as  may  penetrate 
deepest  into  the  heart ;  for  you  are  in  danger  of  not  reaping  much 
fruit  from  any  part  of  the  reformation  which  you  have  effected, 
however  good  and  holy  the  work,  if  this  power  of  preaching  be 
not  more  and  more  unfolded.  It  is  not  said  without  reason,  that 
Jesus  Christ  '  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and 
slay  the  wicked  with  the  breath  of  his  lips.'t  This  is  (he  means 
by  which  the  Lord  will  bind  and  destroy  all  his  enemies,  and 
hence  the  Gospel  is  called  the  kingdom  of  God.  Although  the 
edicts  and  laws  therefore  of  princes  are  good  auxiliaries,  for  the 
support  of  Christianity,  God  will  make  his  dominion  known  by 
the  spiritual  sword  of  his  Word,  proclaimed  by  his  ministers  and 
preachers." 

The  four  sermons  against  the  Nicomedites,  before  cited,  are 

*  Heb.  iv.  12.  f-  Isal  xl  4. 


a. d.  1541-49.]  calvin's  popularity.  435 

grounded  upon  four  texts,  which  seem  to  have  been  thoroughly 
considered  ;  the  discourses  themselves,  which  are  of  moderate 
length,  manifesting  a  clear  progress  of  ideas.  So  too  the  150 
sermons  on  the  Book  of  Job,  which  were  delivered  without  prep- 
aration, are  with  few  exceptions  far  from  long.  We  may  hence 
conclude  that  he  found  it  expedient  to  exercise  caution  in  this 
respect,  and  that  he  rarely  preached  more  than  half  an  hour. 
With  a  slow  delivery,  one  of  the  above-mentioned  four  sermons 
might  occupy  three  quarters  of  an  hour.  His  practical  dis- 
courses on  the  twelve  minor  prophets,  and  his  sermons  on  the 
Epistles,  are  with  some  exceptions  still  shorter.  Luther  also 
has  spoken  very  distinctly,  and  with  originality,  on  the  value  of 
brevity. 

Scaliger,  who  had  heard  Calvin,  says,  "  Calvin  being  asthmati- 
cal,  and  speaking  very  deliberately,  it  is  easy  to  write  down  all 
that  he  says."  We  therefore  possess  the  very  words  which  he 
used.  Judging  from  his  character  and  style,  we  might  have  sup- 
posed that  he  would  have  spoken  with  great  fire,  rapidity,  and 
force  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  often  broke  off,  and  made  long 
pauses,  to  give  the  hearers  time  to  consider  his  remarks. 

His  fame,  or  rather  his  endowments  as  an  eloquent  and  impres- 
sive speaker,  remained  unimpaired  to  his  latest  years.  The 
popularity  of  his  preaching  attracted  the  notice  of  the  government ; 
and  it  is  especially  mentioned  in  the  register  of  the  19th  of  June, 
1559,  that  a  prodigious  multitude  of  people  attended  the  sermons 
of  Calvin  and  Viret.  Such,  however,  was  the  apostolic,  pious 
feeling  then  reigning  in  Geneva,  that  every  minister,  without 
reference  to  any  peculiar  gifts,  had  a  numerous  congregation. 
Things  were  altered  after  Calvin's  death  ;  and  that  spirit,  as  yet 
not  known,  which  then  began  to  prevail,  was  so  distressing  to  the 
preachers  that  they  complained  to  the  council,  that,  while  the 
people  flocked  in  crowds  to  the  talented  and  celebrated  orator 
Beza.  the  other  ministers  were  left  forsaken.  Even  Beza  himself, 
as  a  member  of  the  consistory,  affording  a  rare  instance  of  right- 
mindedness,  prayed  the  council  to  put  an  end  to  this  negligence 
and  irregularity. 

The  lectures  on  the  Book  of  Job  may  be  spoken  of  in  con- 
nection with  his  most  excellent  pulpit  productions.  Beza  ap- 
pended a  preface  to  the  Latin  translation  of  this  work,  made  by 
some  unknown  author.  In  this  preface  he  bestows  a  noble  eulo- 
gium  on  Calvin  as  an  expositor,  and  he  expresses  his  regret  that 
he  could  not  himself  revise  the  sermons  ;  he  says,  that  they  were 


436  LECTUUKS    ON    JOB.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

attended  with  such  a  blessing  in  the  whole  of  Fiance,  that  they 
were  daily  read,  especially  where  there  was  a  want  of  preachers, 
both  in  churches  and  families.  But  Calvin,  as  is  often  the  case 
with  authors,  knew  the  worth  of  his  own  production  so  little,  that, 
according  to  Beza's  statement,  repeated  in  the  preface  to  the 
French  edition,  it  was  only  obtained  from  him  by  force. 

The  Book  of  Job  must  have  been  full  of  interest  to  a  man  of 
Calvin's  habit  of  thought.  A  solemn  and  profound  line  of  argu- 
ment, extending  even  to  particulars,  characterizes  this  composition, 
and  closely  connects  it  with  the  doctrine  of  our  author,  because  it 
leads  to  the  conviction  that,  if  God  exposes  us  to  suffering,  He  is 
righteous  in  doing  so  ;  that  everything  proceeds  from  Him  alone, 
because  He  alone  is  almighty,  and  omnipotence  is  ever  connected 
with  righteousness.  This  may  account  for  the  peculiar  delight 
which  Calvin  experienced  in  the  interpretation  of  this  portion  of 
Scripture. 

In  the  first  sermon,  which  may  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the 
Book  of  Job,  Calvin  says,  "This  history  shows  how,  being  as 
we  are  in  the  hand  of  God,  we  ought  to  submit  ourselves  en- 
tirely to  his  will ;  what  reason  we  have  continually  to  glorify 
Him,  even  when  his  hand  is  heavy  upon  us,  and  we  understand 
not  the  cause  of  the  infliction.  Always  let  us  know  that  He  is 
righteous  and  holy,  and  that  to  Him  alone  belongs  the  victory. 
Let  us  learn  that  his  power  over  his  creature  is  unlimited,  aud 
being  assured  that  his  severity  toward  us,  though  often  inex- 
plicable, is  righteous,  let  us  humbly  wait  till  He  be  pleased  to 
reveal  why  He  has  chastened  us.  And  further;  let  us  obey  the 
precept  of  the  Apostle  James,  and  meditate  upon  the  patience  of 
the  man  who  is  here  placed  before  our  eyes:  his  example  will 
show  us,  that  a  frail  being  like  ourselves  may  persevere  in  his 
obedience,  and  resist  even  to  the  end,  and  that  amid  sufferings 
and  trials,  the  temptations  of  Satan.  Then  lot  us  consider  the 
happy  consequence  of  this  patience  of  Job,  and  how  he  was  not 
deceived  in  his  hope,  but  found  grace  just  according  to  the 
measure  of  his  humility.  There  is  also  this  further  inference 
to  be  drawn  from  the  history  ;  namely,  that  although  our  suffer- 
ings are  imposed  on  us  by  God,  it  is  Satan  who,  as  St.  Paul 
says,  so  works  against  us  that  we  have  to  struggle  with  the 
powers  of  darkness.  When  the  devil  moreover  kindles  a  fire, 
he  can  always  find  bellows  with  which  to  blow  it,  that  is,  men 
to  spur  us  on  and  to  increase  the  evil.  Thus  Job.  besides  the 
pain   which  he  had  to  endure,   was  plagued  by  his  friends,  his 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LECTURES    ON    JOB.  437 

wife,  and  especially  by  those  who  tempted  him  spiritually.  I  call 
it  a  spiritual  temptation,  when  the  devil  assails  us  through  our 
Bufferings,  when  God  is  opposed  to  us,  and  we  dare  not  seek  his 
help,  or  hope  for  his  grace.  These  spiritual  struggles  are  heavier 
to  bear  than  other  sufferings  and  trials." 

"  We  should  further  remark,  how  Job,  in  the  whole  controvers)' 
with  his  friends,  defended  a  good  cause,  and  the  latter  a  bad 
one,  but  so  that  Job  set  forth  his  good  cause  badly,  and  his 
friends  their  evil  one  well.  If  we  succeed  in  making  this  clear, 
we  shall  have  a  key  to  the  whole  book.  Job  is  right,  when  he 
says,  that  God  does  not  always  punish  men  according  to  the 
measure  of  their  sins,  but  has  his  secret  counsels,  of  which  He 
gives  us  no  account.  Job  knew  and  felt  that  he  was  not,  as 
men  wished  him  to  believe,  cast  away  by  God  ;  but  he  failed 
through  want  of  moderation,  and  employed  the  rash  expressions 
of  a  man  in  despair.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  bring  upon 
himself  the  charge  of  resisting  God.  Hence  he  conducted  his 
good  cause  in  an  evil  way.  His  friends,  on  the  contrary,  who 
supported  a  false  principle,  namely,  that  God  punishes  only  ac- 
cording to  the  sins  committed,  have  fair  and  pious  sentiments 
in  their  mouths,  speaking  as  if  whatever  they  said  was  suggested 
to  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  pronouncing  judgment  on  the 
principles  of  religion,  on  the  providence  of  God,  on  his  righteous- 
ness, and  the  sins  of  men.  All  this  looks  fair,  but  their  end  is 
bad  ;  their  object  being  to  reduce  Job  to  despair,  and  altogether 
destroy  him." 

Calvin  next  gives  a  summary  of  the  whole  history,  speaks  of 
the  honor  in  which  the  name  of  Job  was  held  in  the  most  ancient 
times  among  the  Israelites,  and  remarks  that  the  prophet  Eze- 
kiel*  mentions  him  with  Noah  and  Daniel.  He  also  observes,  that 
though  he  was  descended  from  Esau,  who  had  forsaken  the 
covenant  of  the  fathers  and  was  rejected  by  God,  he  was  pious 
and  righteous  before  the  Lord,  and  belonged  to  the  number  of 
those  whom  God  had  elected  to  preserve  the  pure  worship  of 
himself,  at  a  time  when  his  church  had  not  as  yet  a  visible 
existence. 

Thus  he  says  of  the  righteousness  of  Job : — "  It  is  stated  that 
he  was  a  perfect  man  ;  now  this  word  in  Scripture  is  used  to 
represent  a  character  in  which  there  is  no  fiction  or  hypocrisy  ; 
when  the  man  is  the  same  without  as  he  is  within,  having  no 
subterfuge  in  reserve  to  excuse  his  turning  from  God,  but  em- 

*  Ezek.  xiv.  14. 


438  LECTURES    ON   JOB.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

ploying  all  his  thoughts  and  affections  about  Him,  and  seeking 
nothing  but  the  entire  devotion  of  himself,  of  his  heart  and  soul 
to  his  service.  We  cannot  indeed  be  perfect,  for  even  those  who 
are  on  the  right  path  will  sometimes  trail  the  foot  or  the  wing. 
But  this  at  least  we  must  do,  renounce  all  hypocrisy  and  false- 
hood. True  holiness  begins  from  within  ;  for  had  we  the  fairest 
reputation  among  men,  so  that  every  one  praised  us,  and  this 
righteousness  or  perfection  before  God  was  wanting,  it  would 
be  as  nothing.  It  is  necessary  above  all  things  that  the  foun- 
tain be  pure;  the  streams  which  flow  from  it  will  then  be  pure 
also.  Let  us  therefore  always  remember  this ;  God  will  be 
honored  in  spirit  and  in  truth  :  He  looks  to  the  sincerity  of  the 
heart." 

The  author  next  shows  particularly  how  Job  preserved  his 
purity  in  the  midst  of  a  corrupt  people.  "  He  could  not."  it  is  said, 
"  pursue  his  righteous  course  without  great  struggles,  or  without 
provoking  the  assaults  of  Satan,  desiring  to  betray  him  and  in- 
volve him  in  the  depravity  of  the  world  :  but  he  avoided  the  wick- 
edness to  which  he  was  tempted.  What  now  should  we  do  1 
Although  we  live  in  the  church  of  God.  yet  shall  we  never  find 
ourselves  encompassed  by  such  purity  and  perfection,  as  not  to  be 
sometimes  mixed  up  with  men  who  are  firebrands,  a  deadly  pest 
and  capable  of  anything  :  we  should  therefore  be  always  on  our 
guard.  How  so  ?  We  should  avoid  the  wicked,  that  is,  follow 
the  example  of  Job,  and  contend  against  such  attacks,  and 
guard  ourselves  against  the  corruption  with  which  we  are  assailed, 
in  the  midst  of  the  vices  and  iniquity  of  the  world.  We  should 
not  say,  as  so  many  do,  '  One  must  howl  with  the  wolves  ;'  but 
we  must  so  turn  from  the  evil,  that  the  temptations  of  Satan  may 
have  no  power  over  us,  and  wait  quietly  till  God  cleanse  our  filth 
and  our  sores,  according  as  He  has  promised  to  do,  in  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  free  us  from  the  pollutions  of 
this  world,  that  He  may  present  us  pure  among  the  angels  in 
eternal  blessedness." 

In  the  second  sermon  he  shows,  how  Job  afforded  an  image  of 
virtue  even  by  his  great  riches,  which  so  easily  prove  a  snare 
to  men  ;  how  he  served  God  in  the  simplicity  of  his  heart,  and 
came  before  him  with  sacrifices  and  prayers,  after  the  feastings 
of  his  children  :  he  also  takes  occasion  from  this  incident  to 
assail  such  feastings.  "  Job  knew  well,"  he  says,  "  what  ex- 
perience teaches,  that  in  all  entertainments  where  God  is  not 
honored,  as  He   ought  to  be,  disorders  will  be  allowed.     First, 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LECTURES    ON    JOB.  439 

there  is  the  superfluity  of  meats  ;  people  eat  and  drink  more 
than  usual,  and  this  is  the  case  even  with  those  who  avoid  any 
gross  excess:  and  then  what  numberless  foolish  things  are 
said  or  done  !  Where  people  ought  to  eat  as  if  they  were  in  th# 
presence  of  God,  and  to  rejoice  as  if  his  angels  were  their  fellow- 
guests,  vanities  are  introduced  which  so  transport  them,  that  it. 
seems  as  if  they  could  not  be  merry  without  committing  ex- 
cesses. I  say  this  even  of  good  men.  But  if  it  be  thus  even 
where  the  guests  are  generally  moderate  and  decorous,  what  is 
not  likely  to  take  place  among  those  who  drive  God  from  their 
society  and  their  table?  For  if  the  question  were  put,  how 
ought  the  banquet  to  be  commenced?  and  it  were  answered, 
'  by  invoking  the  name  of  God,' — O,  this  would  be  thought  a 
melancholy  affair.  The  name  of  God  therefore  must  be  buried, 
for  to  think  of  Him  would  be  to  change  the  gaiety  of  the  feast 
into  mourning.  License  must  be  allowed  for  everything  :  trea- 
son and  malice  must  have  free  scope  ;  no  news  will  be  worth 
hearing  by  which  some  neighbor  is  not  slandered,  or  by  which 
some  machination  is  not  introduced  against  this  one  or  that. 
This  is  the  consequence  of  banquets.  Inclined  then  as  men  are 
to  vice,  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  sin  where  free  scope  is  given 
for  its  commission.  Can  we  look  therefore  for  anything  but  an 
infernal  gulf,  where  they  almost  purposely  assemble  to  plot 
together  in  the  spirit  of  malice  and  treason?  We  should  not  in- 
deed encourage  unnecessary  scruples,  but  we  should  be  vigilant 
and  guarded  to  avoid  surprise.  Let  us  therefore,  when  we  sit  at 
table,  pray  God  to  preserve  us  in  temperance  by  his  grace,  so  that 
the  food  which  we  take  may  be  not  for  luxury,  but  for  nourish- 
ment, and  to  strengthen  us  in  the  service  of  God.  Let  us  pray 
that  He  may  grant  us  grace  to  look  beyond  the  things  of  this 
transitory  life  to  those  of  eternity,  to  which  he  invites  us  by  his 
Word  ;  seeing  that  it  is  not  that  we  may  live  for  a  day,  or  ten 
days,  or  fifty  years,  that  He  has  given  us  existence,  but  that  we 
may  attain  to  eternal  glory." 

As  we  rarely  escape  falling  into  sin.  Calvin  says  further: — 
"Job  seeks  a  remedy,  and  it  is  this:  God  will  strengthen  us  in 
our  infirmities.  If  my  children  have  not  in  anywise  done  what 
is  right,  God  will  still  have  mercy  on  them  and  me.  Let  us 
implore  his  pardon.  Job  did  not,  however,  forbid  his  children 
to  celebrate  their  feasts:  and  why  not?  because  the  thino-  in 
itself  was  good."  He  then  speaks  of  the  edifying  manner  in 
which    Job   instructed    his   children.      He    admonished   them   to 


440  calvin's  pastoral  zeal.  [chap.  viii. 

sanctify  themselves  after  their  feasting  ;  and  they  obeyed  his 
command,  although  they  had  their  own  separate  habitations. 
With  how  much  pain  did  Calvin  reprove  the  want  of  filial  obe- 
dience in  the  young  people  of  later  times  !  He  says:  "Now,  as 
soon  as  children  have  reached  the  age  of  ten  years,  they  begin  to 
conceit  themselves  men  :  they  require  the  rod  for  fifteen  years 
after  they  have  assumed  the  manly  garb."* 

The  feeling  of  repentance  is  strikingly  visible  as  a  characteristic 
of  Calvin's  piety,  and  no  less  so  of  his  care  for  souls.  He  was 
ever  striving  to  keep  alive  the  consciousness  of  sin,  and  of  the 
misery  of  mankind.  His  intense  conviction  of  the  truth  of  eternal 
election,  and  his  constant  sense  of  the  nearness  of  Cod,  under 
whose  eyes,  as  he  expresses  himself,  he  carried  on  the  conflict  in 
which  he  was  engaged,  are  perpetually  apparent.  He  does  not 
indeed  utter  his  pious  sentiments  with  the  love  and  tenderness 
which  mark  the  colloquies  and  meditations  of  the  holy  Augustine, 
but  more  profoundly  and  concisely.  Let  those  who  would  rightly 
understand  this,  read  the  short  prayers  with  which  he  concludes 
his  several  expositions  of  the  minor  prophets.  These  prayers  ex- 
press, but  with  a  richness  of  phraseology  always  new,  the  same 
great  truths  respecting  the  misery  of  mankind  and  eternal  salva- 
tion, and  would  form  together  an  excellent  and  instructive  book 
for  family  devotion. 

They  show  his  perpetual  attention  to  the  great  work  of  sal- 
vation. To  deliver  souls  was  his  main  business  ;  the  method 
was  an  inferior  consideration.  Had  he  felt  otherwise  he  would 
have  been  no  reformer.  Opinions  have  so  changed  in  our  times, 
that  we  exalt  the  interests  of  science  above  all  others,  and  re- 
gard the  struggle  for  salvation  as  a  secondary  matter.  His 
great  doctrine  of  predestination  must  have  given  him,  as  a  pastor, 
much  to  do.  The  souls  of  his  hearers  were  continually  filled 
with  anxiety  through  this  principle  of  his  system  :  he  was  there- 
fore the  more  desirous  to  provide  for  their  instruction,  and  re- 
marks, that  "they  who  sought  to  fathom  this  mystery  without 
the  aid  of  Cod's  Word  would   fall  into  a  deep  abyss."     He  adds 

*  "  Et  qu'il  semble  quo  cc  soit  merveilles ;  car  ce  ne  sunt  que  petites  ordures, 
et  de  Bouffrir  nulle  correction,  nulle  doctrine,  il  n'en  est  nouvelle.  11  leur  ramble 
qu'ou  leur  feroit  tort  et  injure."  Referring  then  t<>  the  tine  example  of  Job's 
children,  he  continues : — "Quanddonc  nous  voyona  cela,  c'eat  bien  pour  condamner 
touts  ces  petits  rustres,  cpii  font  lea  braves,  el  [event  les  cornea  ;  ils  ne  savent  que 
c'est  de  discipline  en  facon  que  ce  soit,  ce  ne  sont  que  merdailles,  et  neantmoins  ils 
veulent  contrefaire  les  homines;  et  ceux  (les  tils  de  Job)  qui  estoyent  aagez,  et  ad- 
visez  pour  conduire  un  me.-nage,  encore  voyons  nous  qu'ils  estovent  retenus  sous  la 
conduite  et  l'obcissance  de  Job." 


a.d.  1541-49.]    calvin's  pastoral  zeal.  441 

some  useful  practical  warnings   against   inquiring   too   far   into 
mysteries. 

Examples  of  his  zeal  in  the  care  of  souls  are  furnished  in  the 
first  part  of  this  work.*  We  may  instance  the  devotion  with 
which  both  he  and  his  wife  watched  by  the  death-bed  of  a  fel- 
low-townsman, to  whom  he  imparted  the  knowledge  of  saving 
truth.  I  refer  however  more  particularly  to  passages  in  which 
he  treats  of  the  duties  of  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  shows 
his  love  for  souls.  "That  anxiety  burnt  and  tormented  us  when- 
ever we  had  to  administer  the  sacrament."  "  For  every  single 
soul  must  the  preacher  give  account."  And  often  do  we  meet 
with  this  strong  expression  in  his  works : — "The  blood  of  souls 
will  be  demanded  at  the  hands  of  the  pastor." 

He  considered  certain  regulations  necessary  for  ministers,  it 
being  contrary  to  his  system  to  leave  anything  to  the  caprice 
of  individuals: — 1.  The  congregational  preaching  introduced  by 
him  must,  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  conducive  to  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  people.  It  consisted  of  a  discourse 
intended  for  the  edification  of  the  grown-up  portion  of  the  con- 
gregation, which  assembled  on  a  week-day  (Friday);  and  after 
the  sermon  any  one  who  pleased  was  at  liberty  to  come  forth,  to 
make  his  observations,  and  discuss  them  with  the  preacher. 
This  gave  rise  to  a  higher  species  of  catechizing,  through  the 
utter  absence  of  which  in  our  churches  many  of  the  people  live 
in  the  grossest  error,  without  its  being  suspected  by  their  clergy- 
man. Calvin  seems  to  have  found  it  useful  to  let  the  people 
enter  into  conversation  with  the  minister,  to  awaken  their  in- 
terest in  the  subject  of  his  discourse.  From  the  same  principle, 
the  public  catechizing  of  the  children  was  established:  in  this, 
as  is  still  the  custom,  the  children  answered  the  questions  of  the 
minister  aloud  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation.  The  preach- 
ing of  which  we  have  spoken  also  afforded  Calvin  the  oppor- 
tunity of  admonishing  the  people.  Thus  it  is  said  that,  follow- 
ing the  advice  of  some  of  the  brethren,  he  warned  the  commu- 
nity by  stating  it  in  the  congregation,  that  two  heretics  had  ar- 
rived in  Geneva,  who  taught  that  he  only  is  a  Christian  who  is 
perfect,  and  that  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is  a  deliverance  effected 
for  us  by  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  may  enjoy  this  perfection.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  strife  with  Bolsec ;  for  we  learn  from 
the  same  source  (Oct    16),  "St.  Andre    holds  the  congregation  ; 

*  Ep.  42. 


442  calvin's  pastoral  zeal.  [chap.  viii. 

Farel  makes  his  remarks ;  Bolsec  brings  forth  his  doctrine  ;  Cal- 
vin answers  him." 

This  congregational  preaching  therefore  was,  in  a  peculiar 
^ense,  subjected  to  the  censure  of  the  people.  A  new  regula- 
tion was  afterwards  "introduced,  and  discourses  could  only  be 
reviewed  in  the  assembly  of  the  clergy.  This  rule  was  observed 
till  the  year  1792.  Now,  in  the  weekly  sermon  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures are  expounded.  Polemical  freedom  might  indeed  be  some- 
what restricted  at  first,  since  it  was  so  dangerous  to  do  aught 
against  unity  of  doctrine;  but  in  those  times  the  tendency  of 
the  popular  mind  was  all  on  the  side  of  protestantism,  and  much 
was  ventured.  It  appears  plain,  how  useful  such  public  dispu- 
tations between  disbelievers  and  the  clergy  might  be  made  in 
these  days,  in  which  there  is  far  too  much  unprofitable  preaching, 
the  infidel  thinking  within  himself  the  "preacher  has  spoken  well 
enough,  but  no  one  dare  contradict  him.  He  wields  his  sword 
bravely  about  in  the  air,  without  ever  allowing  his  adversary  to 
come  near  him." 

2.  Another  excellent  practice  which  Calvin  established  at  the 
beginning,  was  the  visitation  of  the  sick:  to  this  he  consecrated 
a  distinct  article  in  the  liturgy,  De  la  Visitation  des  Malades,  in 
which  he  says,  "It  is  the  duty  of  the  minister  not  only  to  preach 
the  truth,  but  as  far  as  possible  to  warn,  encourage  and  comfort 
every  one.  This  spiritual  instruction  is  then  most  needful  to  a 
man  when  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  upon  him,  and  he  i>  visited 
with  pain  and  sickness  or  other  distresses,  and  especially  in  the 
hour  of  death.  He  then  feels  himself  more  than  in  any  other 
moment  disturbed  by  his  conscience,  as  well  on  account  of  the 
judgment  of  God,  before  whom  he  is  about  to  appear,  as  through 
the  assaults  of  the  devil,  who  then  employs  all  his  strength  to 
overpower  the  poor  creature,  and  to  bow  him  down  with  shame 
and  misery.  It  is  the  duty  therefore  of  ministers  to  visit  the  faith- 
ful, to  comfort  them  with  God's  Word,  and  to  show  them  how  all 
which  they  suffer  comes  from  his  hand  and  his  good  providence, 
and  that  He  allows  nothing  to  happen  to  his  own  but  what  may 
conduce  to  their  benefit  and  salvation.  In  all  these  cases  the 
minister  should  choose  the  mfifet  careful  expressions.  If  he  sees 
that  the  sufferers  are  at  the  point  of  death,  he  must  act  towards 
them  according  to  the  state  of  their  souls:  should  they  he  op 
pressed  with  terroi  aJ  the  near  approach  of  death,  he  must  show 
them  that  death  has  nothing  really  terrible  in  it  for  Christians,  see- 


A.D.  1541-49.]  PRIVATE    COMMUNION.  443 

ing  that  they  have  Christ  for  their  guide  and  protector,  and  that 
he  will  conduct  them  to  that  eternal  life  into  which  he  himself 
has  already  entered.  In  this  manner  should  the  preacher  sub- 
due that  terror  which  dread  of  the  judgment  of  God  may 
have  inspired.  But  should  they  not  be  sufficiently  alarmed  by 
a  sense  of  sin,  he  must  then  explain  to  them  what  the  judg- 
ment of  God  is,  and  how  they  can  only  stand  before  it  through 
his  mercy,  and  by  embracing  Christ  as  their  salvation.  If  again 
they  are  disturbed  in  conscience,  and  bowed  down  with  the  feel- 
ing of  their  defects,  then  he  must  represent  Christ  to  them  in 
clear  and  lively  colors,  and  make  them  understand  how  all 
poor  sinners,  only  mistrusting  themselves,  may  find  in  him 
refuge  and  consolation.  A  good  and  faithful  minister  will  con- 
sider by  what  means  he  can  best  comfort  the  sufferers,  following, 
that  is,  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  and  observing  the  spirit  by  which 
they  are  animated.  And  if  he  knows  anything  by  which  he  can 
administer  bodily  relief  to  them,  he  will  not  neglect  to  do  it,  but 
will  afford  in  all  ways  an  example  of  true  charity." 

Calvin  also  directed,  as  we  have  before  seen,  that  no  one  should 
lie  ill  three  days  without  sending  for  a  minister. 

3.  With  resrard  to  the  custom  of  administering  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  the  sick,  which  the  reformed  church,  from  too  great 
a  dread  of  giving  room  to  superstition,  has  rejected.  Calvin  has 
frequently  spoken  in  favor  of  the  practice.  In  the  same  man- 
ner, he  was  by  no  means  opposed  to  the  delivery  of  an  address 
at  funerals,— a  custom  also  which  his  church  for  three  hundred 
years  did  not  allow.  Of  the  sacrament,  in  relation  to  the  sick, 
he  says.*  "Many  and  powerful  reasons  induce  me  not  to  refuse 
the  Lord's  Supper  to  the  sick.  In  the  meanwhile  I  see  how 
easily  many  abuses  may  arise,  which  it  will  be  our  duty  to  op- 
pose with  zeal  and  forethought.  If,  for  example,  a  communion 
be  allowed,  at  which  several  persons  are  not  present,  there  will 
be  a  departure  from  Christ's  institution.  A  little  meeting  of 
relations  and  neighbors  should  be  called,  that  the  sacrament 
may  be  administered  according  to  our  Lord's  command.  The 
mystery  should  also  be  clearly  explained,  and  everything  be  done 
ar,  in  the  church."  Calvin  speaks  of  carrying  the  sacrament 
about  from  place  to  place,  in  an  irregular  way,  as  very  danger- 
ous. It  is  difficult,  when  this  is  done,  to  prevent  some  from 
desiring  the  sacrament  from  superstition,  and  others  from  am- 
bition and  a  foolish  vanity.     "Judgment  and  experience  there- 

*  Epis.  361.     August,  1561. 


444  PASTORAL    VISITS.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

fore  are  required  to  determine  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  it  may 
be  given  only  in  those  instances  in  which  life  is  in  danger.  To 
carry  the  bread  out  of  the  church  with  pomp  and  ceremony,  as 
something  holy,  is  in  nowise  to  be  endured." 

In  another  letter*  he  says, — "  We  have  no  right  to  deny 
this  benefit  to  the  sick,  needing  it  as  they  do  in  their  last  con- 
flict. It  were  especially  hard  to  refuse  them  this  testimony  to 
their  being  Christians,  and  at  a  time  when  they  most  require 
some  sign  of  their  communion  with  the  church.  I  will  not 
however  create  disquiet  on  this  account :  I  yield,  because  it 
would  not  be  good  to  introduce  strife."  He  continues  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  first  Christians  had  no  churches  in  which  to  par- 
take of  the  sacrament ;  that  they  must  therefore  have  celebrated 
it  in  houses  ;  and  he  thence  jusiifies  a  practice  which  his  fellow- 
believers  rejected  :  but  he  insists  firmly  on  this,  that  no  one  can 
communicate  alone. 

With  regard  to  the  greater  or  less  frequency  of  celebrating 
the  communion,  in  which  the  Lutheran  differs  from  the  Cal- 
vinistic  church,  he  speaks  as  follows  :f  —  "We  should  have 
much  wished  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  every  month,  but 
not  so  as  to  let  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  enjoyment  degen- 
erate into  negligence  ;  for  when  the  larger  part  of  the  congre- 
gation withdraw  themselves  from  the  communion,  the  church  is 
in  one  sense  dissolved.  We  should  have  been  glad  to  invite  the 
church  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  every  month,  instead  of 
only  four  times  in  the  year,  as  is  our  custom.  When  I  first 
came  here  it  was  celebrated  only  three  times  a  year,  and  so  that 
between  Whitsuntide  and  Christmas  seven  months  were  passed 
without  its  being  enjoyed.  I  wished  to  introduce  the  monthly 
celebration  of  it;  but  when  I  found  so  few  who  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  convinced,  it  seemed  better  to  spare  the  weakness 
of  the  people's  faith  than  to  strive  obstinately  against  it.  I 
took  care  however  that  it  should  be  remarked  in  the  public  acts, 
that  our  custom  was  defective,  so  that  those  who  came  after 
might  have  more  freedom  and  ease  in  correcting  it.''  The  re- 
formed church  has  persevered  in  celebrating  the  communion  four 
times  a  year.  This  affords  a  fresh  proof  of  the  fact,  that  Calvin 
could  not  always  effect  that  which  he  considered  best,  and  ear- 
nestly wished  to  accomplish. 

4.  As  soon  as  he  had  his  hands  somewhat  freer,  and  that  the 
party  most  strongly   opposed   to   him   was   overthrown,   be   took 

*  Epis.  363.  f  Epis.  361. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CALVIN  S    SEVERITY.  445 

care  to  execute  his  early  plan  for  the  general  oversight  of  fami- 
lies and  home-preaching,  which  is  altogether  wanting  among  us. 
Pastoral  visits  were  prescribed  for  the  improvement  of  faith  and 
morals ;  nor  were  ministers  alone  employed  in  these  visits.  Mem- 
bers of  the  council,  the  syndics,  the  highest  magistrates  took  part 
in  the  labor,  and  anxiously  employed  themselves  about  the  salva- 
tion of  men-servants  and  maid-servants.  The  first  and  the  last 
joined  hands  in  this  work. 

Bucer  thus  wrote  to  Calvin  on  the  subject  :* — "I  must  greatly 
praise  you  for  visiting  the  brethren,  for  you  know  with  what  pain 
I  have  observed  that  this  duty  of  piety  and  love,  on  the  part  of 
the  clergy — to  visit,  to  warn  and  comfort  the  people — is  greatly 
neglected,  and  by  the  greater  number  almost  wholly  forgotten. 
May  God  be  with  you  in  this,  so  that  what  you  have  piously  es- 
tablished may  prove  useful  to  the  brethren  !" 

5.  In  respect  to  attendance  at  church,  he  acted  with  such  de- 
termination, that  he  inflicted  a  regular  penalty  of  some  sols  on 
those  who  were  guilty  of  negligence.  He  admonished  the  people 
with  great  earnestness  on  this  duty,  as  we  see  from  the  following 
letter  :t — 

"  Invaluable  is  the  fruit  of  that  holy  institution,  by  means  of 
which  we  assemble  together  in  one  place,  to  be  instructed  in 
common  in  the  divine  doctrine  of  Christ,  to  call  upon  the  Lord 
with  one  heart  and  one  mouth,  to  strengthen  ourselves  in  the  faith 
by  the  use  of  the  sacraments,  and  thus  to  show  ourselves  before 
God  and  the  angels  as  the  soldiers  of  Christ.  This  is  indispensably 
necessary,  and  Satan  could  not  expose  you  to  a  more  dangerous 
temptation  than  that  of  inducing  you,  under  any  pretence  what- 
ever, to  treat  so  great  a  benefit  with  contempt.  Let  no  one  wish 
to  be  wiser  than  God  in  this  matter,  or  think  to  himself  that  there 
are  other  means  of  promoting  his  advancement  in  the  way  of  sal- 
vation. I  allow  indeed  that  the  elect  were  delivered  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  distractions  caused  by  antichrist,  but  this  was  a  won- 
derful instance  of  the  power  of  divine  grace,  and  God's  anger  is 
openly  revealed  against  those  whose  hearts  are  not  made  par- 
takers of  his  Word." 

Much  lias  been  said  respecting  the  violence  which  he  em- 
ployed in  compelling  men  to  perform  the  services  of  religion. 
Calvin  may  possibly  have  derived  this  compulsory  mode  of  act- 
ing, in  matters  of  pastoral  duty,  from  his  great  master,  Augus- 
tine, who,  unlike  Calvin,  was  somewhat  inconsistent  with  himself 

*  Epis.  12,  1547.  t  EPis-  303- 


446  POWER    OP    THE    CONSISTORY.  [ciIAP.  VIII. 

in  his  adoption  of  compulsory  principles,  which  he  partly  put 
in  force  and  partly  rejected,  in  his  treatment  of  opponents. 
Calvin,  impressed  with  the  idea  that  Christians  need  a  spiritual 
education,  and  that  ministers  are  answerable  for  souls,  went 
further  in  his  zeal  for  pastoral  superintendence  than  his  great 
exemplar. 

6.  To  render  preaching  more  awakening  for  the  people,  Calvin 
in  the  second  year  of  his  office  introduced  a  change  of  preachers, 
— certainly  a  very  useful  measuie,  adopted  to  a  great  extent  by 
the  catholics,  who  send  missionaries  into  the  various  parishes  to 
arouse  the  attention  of  the  people  by  a  different  kind  of  preaching 
to  that  of  their  ordinary  ministers.  This  practice,  we  are  sorry 
to  say,  is  altogether  neglected  in  our  evangelical  churches.  The 
methodists  of  England  only  have  restored  the  custom  of  mission- 
ary preaching. 

All  these  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  ministers  were  re- 
viewed by  the  consistory.  The  members  of  this  evangelical, 
moral  tribunal  afforded  regular  reports  of  that  which  was  brought 
before  them.  Every  unbecoming  word,  even  heard  in  the  street, 
was  made  known  to  the  consistory.  Judgment  was  pronounced 
without  respect  to  persons  :  an  officer  brought  the  offenders  be- 
fore the  tribunal.  Thus  both  men  and  women  of  the  highest 
class,  the  daughters  of  the  first  families,  were  obliged  to  appear, 
and  questions  were  put  to  them  on  the  tenderest  points  of  con- 
science. We  may  easily  imagine  with  what  rage  and  indigna- 
tion these  proceedings  would  be  regarded  by  the  old  families, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  an  unrestrained  mode  of  living, 
and  who  delighted  above  all  things  in  music  and  dancing,  in 
theatrical  and  other  public  amusements.  Under  the  catholic 
bishops  they  had  enjoyed  themselves  without  restraint,  and  had 
struggled  successfully  for  their  political  liberty.  But  now  they 
were  obliged  to  submit  themselves  to  the  power  of  the  stern  re- 
former, who  demanded  a  lofty  earnestness,  simplicity,  chasteness, 
and  purity,  both  in  word  and  action.  The  consistory  admon- 
ished offenders.  Very  frequently  they  would  not  submit  them- 
selves, but  appealed  to  the  council,  which  in  its  turn  desired  them 
to  seek  reconciliation  with  the  church,  and  to  pray  the  consistory 
to  pardon  the  offences  which  they  had  committed.  In  obedience 
to  this  injunction,  they  were  obliged  to  kneel  before  the  tribtyial, 
to  listen  to  its  severe  rebukes,  and  in  bad  cases  to  remain  sepa- 
rated from  communion,  which  was  considered  the  most  humiliating 
of  disgraces. 


A.D.  1541-49.]         POWER    OF    THE    CONSISTORY.  447 

Calvin  seems  to  have  permitted  the  accused  to  come,  in  the 
first  instance,  privately  to  his  own  house :  this  is  gathered  from 
an  unpublished  letter,  dated  February  20,  1555.  He  says, — 
"We  might  have  summoned  him  immediately  before  the  con- 
sistory, but  to  spare  his  friends  we  spoke  with  him  apart."  We 
also  see  that  Calvin,  notwithstanding  his  vehemence,  always  con- 
ducted himself  with  great  dignity  in  the  consistory,  and  that  this 
bearing  was  generally  assumed  by  his  brethren  in  office,  who 
were  always  addressed  as  Seigneurs  Ministres.  There  were 
instances  in  which  the  assembled  ministers  arose  and  separated, 
because  the  accused  conducted  themselves  with  disrespect.  But 
it  also  appears  that  Calvin  sometimes  used  very  strong  language 
towards  those  before  him,  calling  them  hypocrites,  and  that  they 
returned  the  abuse,  a  conduct  which  he  did  not  leave  unpunished. 
On  such  occasions  he  would  rise  indignantly  from  his  seat,  com- 
mand attention,  and  require  the  consistory  to  give  the  matter 
over  to  the  council,  that  the  offence  might  be  punished  as  it 
deserved.*  As  soon  as  the  consistory  entertained  a  suspicion 
against  any  one,  it  referred  to  the  council,  who  ordered  the  ac- 
cused to  prison.! 

Calvin  felt  that  he  was  especially  elected  to  uphold  purity  of 
doctrine,  and  thus  he  permitted  himself  to  mingle  a  foreign  prin- 
ciple with  the  obligations  of  a  pastor.  It  ought  however  to  be 
distinctly  observed,  that  this,  the  end  being  obtained,  was  subse- 
quently modified,  and  never  prevailed  in  the  same  degree  in  other 
churches.  Many  facts  indeed  tend  to  show  that,  at  the  first,  any 
one  who  opposed  the  faith,  or  offended  believers,  or  even  ven- 
tured to  take  accused  persons  under  his  protection,  exposed  him- 
self to  great  annoyances,  complaints  and  processes.  But  who 
will  enter  into  judgment  with  the  man  who,  believing  himself 
appointed  to  execute  the  burdensome  duty  of  restoring  order  to 
the  church,  and  to  proclaim  to  a  self-righleous  world  the  mighty 
judgments  of  God  by  predestination, — who  will  venture  to  con- 
demn a  poor,  weak  man,  if,  under  such  circumstances,  he  suffered 
his  zeal  to  burn  too  fiercely,  or  if  he  identified  himself  too  entirely 
with  his  doctrine?  Christianity  and  antichristianity  had  become 
a  matter  of  party,  and  thence  arose  a  passion  which  degenerated 
at  last  into  disbelief. 

*  Galiffe  Not.  Gen. 

f  Jan.  18,  1544.  "Sur  la  relation  du  consistoire  contre  P.  Roseti,  qui  a  dementi 
le  Sr.  Michel  Morel,  et  dit  qu'il  etoit  aussi  homme  de  Lien  que  lui;  et  est  6oupconne 
de  paillardise:  ord.  qu'il  soit  constitue  prisonnier." 


448  calvin's  success.  [chap.  viii. 

Among  the  numerous  processes  instituted  at  this  period,  we 
shall  mention  only  that  against  the  preacher  Philip  de  Ecclesia, 
who  said  that  there  were  errors  in  the  Geneva  catechism, — among 
other  things,  in  the  doctrine  of  predestination.  It  was  also  laid 
to  his  charge  that  he  practised  usury,  and  lent  money  at  the  rate 
of  from  80  to  100  per  cent.  Nothing  however  could  be  proved 
against  him,  except  that  he  was  at  enmity  with  his  relations. 
From  some  other  allusions  to  legal  proceedings,  we  see  that 
heretical  speeches  against  religion  might  even  place  the  offender's 
life  in  danger.  Thus  a  woman,  Copa  of  Ferrara.  was  sentenced 
in  1559  to  ask  mercy  of  God  and  of  justice,  and  to  be  banished, 
with  the  order  that  she  should  depart  within  twenty-four  hours, 
under  pain  of  losing  her  head.  This  sentence  was  pronounced 
upon  her  because  she  had  uttered  certain  heretical  expressions 
against  Calvin,  and  the  directions  of  the  consistory.  Smaller 
offences  brought  smaller  punishments.  Some  men  who  had 
laughed  while  Calvin  was  preaching  were  put  in  prison  for  three 
days,  and  condemned  to  ask  pardon  before  the  consistory.  Num- 
berless processes  of  this  kind  took  place.  In  the  two  years  1558 
and  1559  alone  there  were  414  such  trials. 

This  mode  of  proceeding  may  now  be  thought  altogether  pecu- 
liar and  faulty  :  but  any  rule  may  bear  good  fruit  when  the  spirit 
is  good  ;  and  thus  it  was  here.  Calvin  sincerely  desired  to  ac- 
complish what  was  right,  and  certainly  some  excellent  results 
attended  the  institution  which  he  established.  Even  in  his  own 
time,  when  Knox  was  in  Geneva,  the  latter  speaks  with  admira- 
tion of  the  good  order  of  the  church  ;  for  this  great  man,  united 
with  his  severity  a  Christian  heroism,  a  moderation  and  gentle- 
ness in  his  pastoral  duties,  which  altogether  reconcile  us  to  him, 
and  overpower  the  ruder  tones  of  his  character.  His  extended 
circle  of  activity  affords  numberless  proofs  of  this  fact,  to  be  found 
illustrated  in  those  most  interesting  documents  which  have  hither- 
to been  left  buried  in  forgetfulness,  and  a  few  of  which  only  we 
can  here  bring  to  light. 

Our  attention  maybe  properly  first  directed  to  Calvin's  admi- 
rable exhortation  to  the  reading  of  the  holy  Scriptures.  This  is 
found  in  the  collection  of  his  letters,  and  he  shows. — 1.  What 
Scripture  is  ;  and  2.  in  what  manner  it  must  be  read,  in  order 
to  produce  fruit.  His  explanation  of  the  right  mode  of  praying 
to  God  in  the  name  of  Jesus  is  also  very  edifying  and  in- 
slructive.* 

*  Ep.  346.     Ed.  Amst.  p.  179. 


A.D.  1541-49]       PRAYING    IN    THE    NAME    OF    JESUS.  449 

"When  we  call  upon  God  the  Father,  byname,  to  hear  us, 
for  the  sake  of  his  Son,  it  is  to  he  thus  understood.  Christ  has 
opened  for  us  the  way  to  his  Father  by  his  death,  so  that  we 
may  approach  Him  with  confidence,  and  in  such  a  way  that 
Jesus  himself  also  prays  for  us  in  virtue  of  his  sacrifice,  makes 
our  prayers  heard,  and  secures  their  fulfilment.  We  must  not 
however  think  of  Christ  as  if  he  lay  at  his  Father's  feet,  as  it 
might  be  done  among  men.  All  that  we  have  to  bear  in  mind 
is,  that  He  is  our  mediator,  that  He  appeals  to  the  Father  for  us. 
presents  our  prayers  and  supplications,  and  obtains  for  us  a  hear- 
ing and  grace, — hearing,  I  say,  in  order  that  we  may  call  upon 
the  Father  in  his  name,  and  be  heard  by  Him, — grace,  that  we 
may  in  this  manner  obtain  for  his  sake  what  we  have  asked  of 
the  Father.  Thus  a  pious  man,  when  he  prays  to  God  in  the 
name  of  Christ,  must  recollect  that  if  he  appealed  to  God  without 
a  guide  or  a  mediator,  he  could  never,  base  as  he  is,  ascend  to 
that  high  majesty;  whereas,  having  the  promise  of  his  Saviour, 
who  offers  him  his  hand,  it  is  not  difficult  for  him  to  approach  his 
God. 

"But  should  the  thought  arise  in  our  minds,  how  can  Christ, 
being  God,  intercede  for  us  wilh  the  Father,  since  He  would  then 
be  offering  up  prayers  to  himself,  which  we  cannot  imagine  him 
to  do,  we  must  recollect  two  things  which  will  remove  the  diffi- 
culty. First,  the  true  God  is  one  only  God,  but  so  that  in  that 
godhead  a  distinction  of  persons,  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is  always  to  be  understood  ;  there  is  nothing  incon- 
sistent therefore  in  our  directing  ourselves  in  prayer  to  the  person 
of  the  Father.  Secondly,  Christ,  who  assumed  our  nature,  that 
He  might  accomplish  our  redemption  therein,  has  taken  upon 
himself  the  office  of  mediator,  which  He  can  only  execute  by 
praying  for  us,  according  to  his  human  nature. 

"When  we  turn  in  prayer  to  Christ,  we  either  pray  that.  He 
may  bring  us,  as  our  mediator,  to  the  Father,  and  this  serves  as 
a  preparation  for  our  coming  to  the  Father;  or  we  beseech  Him 
to  help  us  by  his  own  might,  as  He,  to  whom  all  power  is  given, 
in  whom  the  fulness  of  the  godhead  dwells,  and  who  is  the  eternal 
God,  made  manifest  to  us  in  the  flesh.  In  both  ways  we  may 
pray  to  Christ  in  truth  and  holiness."  We  select  the  following 
from  some  of  his  pastoral  letters. 

Thus,  in  addressing  an  irresolute,  slothful  young  man,  he 
says: — "I  do  not  disregard  the  difficulties  which  stand  in  your 
way,   but  nothing  is  too  hard   for  him  who  loves.      You  have 

vol.  i.— 29 


450  PASTORAL    LETTERS.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

some  one  who  holds  out  his  hand  from  heaven  to  you.  The  Lord 
will  certainly  find  out  a  way.  You  have  only  allowed  yourself 
too  long  to  be  driven  to  and  fro  by  doubts  and  surmises.  In  so 
certain  a  matter  one  ought  to  determine  quickly  what  it  is  proper 
to  do,  and  to  execute  at  once  and  boldly  the  resolution  which  has 
been  taken.  Human  consideration  is  worth  nothing;  that  of  our 
heavenly  Teacher  must  be  all  to  us." 

2.  Blaarer  had  asked  him  in  what  manner  he  could  comfort  a 
person  who  was  now  in  great  uneasiness,  having  frequently  fallen 
back  into  the  commission  of  old  offences.  Calvin  answered  :* — 
"You  ask  me  for  advice,  as  if  I  were  better  acquainted  with  these 
things  than  you,  who  greatly  excel  me  in  learning,  experience 
and  penetration.  Where  examples  fail,  we  must  hold  fast  by 
doctrine.  All  the  prophets,  especially  Jeremiah,  show  that  we 
may  obtain  God's  forgiveness  by  repentance.  Sacrifices  were 
appointed  for  those  who  had  often  fallen.  The  seventy-eighth 
psalm  teaches  us  that  God  will  pardon  even  the  hypocrite  and 
the  wicked.  The  Gospel  proclaims  forgiveness  for  the  sins  of  a 
whole  life.  Paul,  in  the  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  de- 
clares it.t  So  also,  Christ  is  not  our  mediator  for  a  day  only,  but 
forever. +  Daniel,§  in  his  solemn  prayer,  confesses  that  sin  was 
heaped  upon  sin.  In  the  Creed  it  is  said,  '  I  believe  in  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,'  that  we  may  never  despair." 

3.  To  the  duchess  of  Ferrara,  exhorting  her  to  remain  faith- 
ful to  the  truth,  he  writes,|| — "Although  I  am  well  aware  that 
I  have  cause  to  thank  God  that  He  continues  to  guide  and  up- 
hold you  in  his  fear,  and  in  obedience  to  his  will,  yet  I  hope 
that  you  will  see  how  necessary  it  is  to  go  forward,  and  to  in- 
crease in  steadfastness,  and  that  you  will  thank  me  if,  both  from 
regard  for  you,  and  care  for  you  and  for  your  soul,  as  well  as 
from  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God's  name,  I  strive  to  render  you  as 
much  help  as  possible.  I  know  that  you  are  willingly  taught 
and  admonished,  and  receive  with  a  child-like  teachableness 
what  you  regard  as  coming  from  God.  Well  then,  gracious 
lady,  if  it  was  Baid  to  you,  in  former  times,  that  in  order  to  be- 
come righteous  you  must  forget  all  worldly  considerations,  it  is 
now  the  season  for  you  to  act.  We  need  not  number  all  the 
difficulties  which  may  rise  in  your  way  and  deter  you  from 
glorifying  God;  you  are  made  aware  of  them  too  soon:  but 
by  so  much   the  more  must  the  hope  that  He  who  has  begun  a 

*  Ep'iB.  357.  +  2  Corin.  xii.  19,  20;  v.  18. 

X  1  John  iL  1.  §  Dan.  ix.  6.  |  MSS.  Gen.  1561. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LETTER    TO    A    PRISONER.  451 

good  work  in  you  will  finish  it,  strengthen  you  for  the  victory. 
Do  but  arm  yourself  with  his  promises,  and  seek  for  refuge  in  the 
strength  of  his  spirit,  which  is  sufficient  to  secure  your  triumph 
in  every  struggle.  In  the  mean  time  I  beseech  you,  gracious 
lady,  to  afford  such  an  example  in  the  high  station  in  which  God 
has  placed  you,  as  you  know  He  requires  from  you,  and  that  the 
good  may  thereby  be  encouraged  and  the  wicked  shamed.  Yea, 
though  the  wicked  burst,  you  must  continue  to  despise  them,  and 
give  glory  to  God  by  your  obedience.  In  the  second  place,  I  ad- 
monish you,  gracious  lady,  to  go  on  as  you  have  begun,  to  pro- 
tect the  poor  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  provide  for  the 
tranquillity  of  the  church.  When  you  know,  moreover,  that  this 
is  an  acceptable  service  to  God,  an  offering  well-pleasing  in  his 
sight,  so  must  you  find  great  encouragement  in  that  word  of  the 
holy  Scripture  which  says,  that  they  who  comfort  the  suffering 
members  of  Christ,  are  helpers  of  God's  mercy,  which  is  so  honor- 
able a  title,  that  we  should  lose  no  time  in  endeavoring  to  obtain 
it.  Thus,  as  the  wanderer  hastens  on  his  path,  when  the  night 
begins  to  fall  around  him,  so  should  increasing  years  remind  you, 
gracious  lady,  to  strive  the  more  diligently  to  leave  a  good  wit- 
ness upon  earth,  or  rather  to  obtain  it  before  God  and  the  angels, 
having  proved  that  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  was  dearer  to  you 
than  any  earthly  advantage.  If  you  resolve  upon  this,  as  it  be- 
comes you  to  do,  then  do  I  hope,  gracious  lady,  that  God  will  so 
profitably  employ  your  nobleness  of  heart  and  constancy,  that  all 
believers  may  with  one  mouth  and  one  heart  bless  your  return, 
and  acknowledge  that  God  has  indeed  had  mercy  on  them 
through  you,  and  stretched  out  his  hand  to  them,  having  brought 
you  back  to  Fiance  in  your  old  age.  But  since  this  is  a  work 
which  passes  all  human  ability,  so  do  I  beseech  you,  gracious 
lady,  daily  to  encourage  and  excite  yourself  thereto,  remember- 
ing the  holy  admonitions  which  we  find  written  in  the  Word  of 
God." 

4.  Another  letter  was  addressed  to  one  who  was  lingering  in 
a  prison  in  France,  for  the  sake  of  God's  Word  : — "  The  peace 
of  God  and  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  always  with 
you,  through  the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  My  Brother! 
Insofar  as  the  things  for  which  you  suffer  are  the  common 
concern  of  all  the  children  of  God,  we  are  partakers  of  your 
affliction.  But  we  have  no  otber  means  of  fulfilling  our  duty  to 
you,  except  by  expressing  our  sympathy  and  our  anxious  care 
for  you  in  our  prayers  to  God  ;  and  I  beseech  you  to  believe  that 


452  LETTER    TO    A    PRISONER.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

we  do  not  fail  herein.  And  it  is  chiefly  on  this  account  that  I 
write  to  you,  that  you  may  know  that  we  think  of  you  as  of  a 
good  soldier  who  is  fighting  for  the  Word  of  God,  for  the  honor 
of  our  only  Redeemer,  and  for  the  doctrine  of  salvation.  It  is 
true  we  should  also  comfort  you,  for  assuredly  do  you  need 
comfort;  but  the  greatness  of  the  distance,  and  the  difficulty  of 
getting  our  letters  to  you,  lay  bands  upon  us :  nor  do  I  doubt 
but  that  the  good  God  will  richly  make  up  for  the  assistance 
which  fails  you  on  the  part  of  men,  both  by  the  holy  admoni- 
tions of  his  Word,  and  the  working  of  his  spirit  in  your  heart. 
And  were  we  in  possession  of  all  means,  and  used  them  with  all 
possible  diligence,  yet  would  they  only  be  so  far  fruitful  as  He 
gave  them  increase,  who,  without  our  labor,  can  accomplish  all 
things.  Wherefore  the  best  counsel  I  can  give  you  is,  to  make 
the  Word  of  God,  when  within  your  reach,  your  constant  re- 
source ;  or,  when  this  blessing  is  denied  you,  to  keep  constantly 
in  your  memory  that  which  He  has  formerly  allowed  you  to  learn 
therefrom  ;  praying  in  the  mean  time  that  He  may  enable  you 
to  relish  the  kernel  thereof  to  your  nourishment  and  increase  in 
strength.  Remember  also,  in  your  afflictions,  that  God  can 
soften  them.  And  will  He  forsake  those  who  are  suffering  for 
the  testimony  of  the  truth,  when  He  promises  to  aid  even  trans- 
gressors who,  being  punished  for  their  misdeeds,  call  upon  Him 
in  their  trouble?  That  you  may  not  think  it  strange  that  you 
suffer  so  much,  recollect  how  much  more  precious  the  name  of 
God  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  are,  than  our  life,  or  all  that  the 
world  can  give.  It  is  indeed  an  unspeakable  comfort  for  us  to 
think  that  God,  who  could  most  justly  punish  us  for  our  sins, 
favors  us  so  highly,  that  He  suffers  us  to  endure  persecutions 
as  witnesses  and  defenders  of  his  Word,  and  thus  to  bear  the 
ensigns  of  his  Son,  which,  however  despised  in  the  sight  of  men, 
are  more  glorious  before  God  and  the  angels  than  all  the  crowns 
and  sceptres  of  earthly  princes.  I  know  well  indeed  that  you 
are  not  brass  and  iron,  and  that  the  flesh  cannot  oppose  itself 
with  enduring  might  against  the  sufferings  which  threaten  you. 
But  as  you  have  hitherto  so  signally  experienced  the  power  of 
God's  goodness  and  support,  so  continue  to  hope  that  He  will 
not  deny  you  them  in  the  future.  Be  assured,  that  as  long  as 
He  continues  your  afflictions,  He  will  bestow  upon  you  the 
grace  to  endure  them.  Do  but  follow  the  guidance  of  God's 
Word,  and  patiently  await  what  He  will  bring  to  pass.  As  we 
ought  always  to  be  ready  to  glorify  Him  by  our  death,  so  should 


A.D.   1541-49.]  LETTER    TO    A    PRISONER.  453 

we  be  willing  to  live  and  to  suffer  as  long  as  it  pleases  Him  ;  and 
He  who  knows  our  weakness  is  faithful,  and  will  appoint  such  an 
end  to  the  trial  that  we  may  be  able  to  bear  it.  Doubt  not  then 
but  that  your  wife,  who  is  as  your  spiritual  fellow-prisoner,  is 
with  you  in  heart  and  shares  your  sufferings.  But  no  slight 
alleviation  will  it  be  to  her,  if  she  learn  that  you  show  that  stead- 
fastness in  the  Lord  which  is  proper  to  those  who  have  given 
themselves  wholly  to  Him.  Yea,  it  awakens  joy  in  all  the  mem- 
bers of  Jesus  Christ,  when  they  see  that  his  name  is  honored 
through  the  invincible  constancy  of  his  martyrs,  notwithstanding 
all  the  opposition  of  the  ungodly.  And  not  only  have  the  faith- 
ful upon  earth  cause  for  rejoicing,  but  also  the  angels  in  heaven. 
The  former  however  have  so  much  the  greater  reason,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  strengthened  thereby ;  while  the  instability  and 
weakness  of  the  poor  unhappy  creatures  who  deny  the  known 
truth  are  often  the  cause  of  shipwreck  to  the  faith  of  weak 
brethren.  I  write  indeed  as  one  far  removed  from  the  danger, 
but  yet  not  absolutely  so;  and  who  knows  how  long  I  may  be 
safe?  According  to  appearance  our  turn  may  also  soon  come. 
Let  us  therefore  mutually  learn  to  direct  our  eyes  to  heaven ;  let 
us  not  be  weary  till  we  have  finished  our  course  ;  let  each  im- 
press upon  his  heart  that  he  must  follow  Jesus,  whenever  He  may 
call  him,  without  considering  what  others  do;  and  that  while  so 
many  prove  themselves  faithless  and  void  of  honor,  it  is  no 
longer  fit  for  us  to  look  to  men.  Finally,  I  pray  our  good  God  to 
strengthen  your  hands  for  the  conflict,  that  you  may  be  victorious 
in  every  battle  ;  to  guide  you  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  take  you 
under  his  protection,  and  lastly  so  to  convince  you  of  his  care  for 
you,  that  you  may  attain  to  perfect  rest.  Commending  myself 
to  your  benevolence,  I  am  your  faithful  brother  and  servant,  Carl 
Despeville."  * 

5.  The  following  is  a  letter  to  a  community,  persecuted  on 
account  of  the  Gospel :  t — "  Dear  brothers  and  sirs,  I  have  heard 
that  you  are  more  than  ordinarily  persecuted  in  your  city  by  the 
enemies  of  the  faith.  As  soon  as  Satan  is  aware  that  the  king- 
dom of  God  advances,  and  that  the  number  of  the  faithful  is  in- 
creased, he  immediately  redoubles  his  efforts  to  destroy  them. 
You  will  not  however  lose  your  courage,  though  God  gives  the 
wicked  the  reins  for  a  little  while  to  trouble  you ;  for  our  faith 

*  The  reader  will  remember  that  caution  induced  Calvin  to  sign  his  letters  with 
this  assumed  name. 

\  MSS.  Gen.  Oct.  8,  1555. 


454  LETTER    TO    A    PERSECUTED    COMMUNITY.    [CHAP.  VIII 

must  be  proved,  and  if  we  be  persecuted  for  the  sake  of  saving 
doctrine,  we  must  show  by  our  constancy  how  dear  and  precious 
it  is  to  us,  whatever  may  be  done  to  draw  us  from  it.  If  you 
feel  yourselves  too  weak,  turn  to  Him  who  has  the  fulness  of 
strength  in  his  hand.  But  if  it  be  necessary  to  arm  yourselves 
against  the  fierce  assaults  of  the  enemies  of  God,  their  cunning 
and  deceit  are  even  still  more  to  be  feared.  Many  indeed  have 
been  cast  down  at  beholding  their  lives  and  their  goods  threat- 
ened, but  it  is  worse  for  them  to  be  turned  from  God  by  hidden 
and  deceitful  means.  As  for  example,  when  your  mitred  bishop 
promises  three  months'  indulgence  to  those  who  forsake  Jesus, 
and  thereby  deny  the  Gospel,  snares  are  laid  to  entrap  poor 
souls  in  everlasting  ruin.  Take  heed  therefore  to  yourselves, 
lest  you  should  be  induced  to  prove  unfaithful  to  Him  who  pur- 
chased you  at  so  dear  a  price.  Better  were  it  to  see  the  pile 
kindled  to  consume  the  body,  than  to  let  the  soul  perish  forever, 
filled  with  deadly  poison.  If  therefore  the  enemies  of  your  sal- 
vation are  preparing  to  employ  these  means  to  deceive  you,  con- 
sider this,  that  God  warns  you  to  draw  back,  as  if  the  trumpet 
were  now  sounding  in  your  ears.  Whatever  happens,  prove,  in 
the  hour  of  danger,  that  you  are  good  and  faithful  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  that  you  despise  Satan  and  all  his  inventions; 
nor  suffer  this  world  to  restrain  you,  or  to  Interfere  with  your  in- 
corruptible inheritance  in  heaven.  Be  assured  that  it  is  God's 
will  to  make  your  faith  manifest  by  these  trials,  and  that  He  will 
hide  you  under  his  wing,  that  you  may  continue  steadfast,  and 
despise  the  safety  which  the  messengers  of  Satan  offer  you. 
I  now  commend  myself,  beloved  brethren,  to  you,  and  pray 
God  to  protect  and  strengthen  you,  that  you  may  be  able  to 
resist  the  temptations  which  await  you,  and  may  never  for- 
sake the  right  way.  I  have  written  but  a  short  letter,  because 
I  doubt  not  but  that  our  dear  brother,  who  is  with  you, 
admonishes  you  according  to  the  grace  which  is  given  him  by 
God." 

6.  The  following  is  a  letter  of  encouragement  to  a  lady  in  a 
weak  and  hesitating  state  of  mind.  Her  husband  was  not  in 
the  faith  :—"  Although  you  have  not  manifested  so  much  firm- 
ness and  resolution  as  we  expected,  yet  you  must  not,  beloved 
sister  in  Jesus  Christ,  lose  courage,  if  you  do  but  feel  a  true  and 
hearty  repentance  for  your  fall.  You  cannot  indeed  urge  any- 
thing to  excuse  so  great  a  sin  ;  but  you  must  be  watchful  that 
Satan  do  not  tempt  you  to  despair,   and  so  estrange  you  wholly 


A.D.  1541-49.]    LETTER    TO    AN    AFFLICTED    LADY.  455 

from  God.  You  have  not  answered  as  you  should  before  your 
judges.  As  you  have  fallen,  because  you  did  not  remain  true  to 
the  Lord,  this  apostasy  ought  to  awaken  great  sorrow  in  your 
heart,  and  you  must  re-establish  yourself  by  trust  in  Him,  who 
gives  victory  in  every  temptation.  Suffer  death  a  hundred  times 
rather  than  sin  against  God,  or  separate  yourself  from  him  to 
obey  your  husband.  Provoke  not  his  wrath  for  sucli  a  reconcili- 
ation, or  for  the  sake  of  peace  with  him  upon  whom  the  divine 
curse  rests ;  lest  for  an  earthly  union  which  can  last  but  for  a 
short  time,  you  break  the  holy  and  eternal  bands  which  unite  us 
to  Christ.  If  you  tempt  God,  Satan  will  load  you  with  chains, 
which  you  will  never  be  able  to  shake  off.  Care  for  your  salva- 
tion compels  me  to  admonish  you.  The  dangers  to  which  you 
have  been  exposed  must  render  you  cautious,  and  show  you  what 
you  are,  unless,  despising  God's  grace,  you  would  plunge  yourself 
in  eternal  ruin." 

7.  We  quote  the  following  from  a  letter  to  a  lady,  whose  faith 
was  tried  by  domestic  circumstances  :* — "  Although  I  am  not  so 
devoid  of  pity  as  not  to  feel  deeply  moved  at  seeing  you  in  still 
closer  confinement,  yet  I  cannot  cease  to  exhort  you  to  arm 
yourself  so  much  the  more  with  constancy,  as  the  trial  becomes 
more  terrible  ;  since  when  Satan  and  the  enemies  of  the  faitli 
press  us  most  without,  then  is  the  time  for  us  to  use  the  grace  of 
God.  St.  Paul  glories  that,  though  he  was  in  prison  and  in 
chains  the  doctrine  which  he  preached  was  not  bound,  but  free 
and  operative.  And  indeed  as  the  truth  of  God,  far  exalted 
above  the  world,  reaches  even  up  to  heaven,  it  cannot  be  sub- 
jected to  the  pleasure  and  tyranny  of  men.  However  then  the 
devil  may  labor  to  oppress  us  with  troubles,  let  our  hearts  expand 
so  much  the  more  through  faith,  that  we  may  the  better  repel 
his  attacks.  Our  Lord  has  lately  afforded  us  many  example?, 
and  still  gives  us  them  daily  in  various  places.  They  ought  tc 
shame  us;  for  if  we  faint  at  the  stroke  of  the  rod,  while  others 
tremble  not  at  death,  how  shall  we  be  able  to  excuse  our  sloth- 
fulness?  You  have  thought  it  impossible  to  sustain  such  severe 
struggles  in  your  house;  but  you  know  that  the  Son  of  God  has 
given  us  warnings,  in  order  that  nothing  of  this  kind,  we 
being  thus  prepared,  may  shake  our  resolution.  And  reflect 
still  further,  that  this  is  not  the  end,  but  that  God  is  now  only 
gently  trying  you,  He  himself  bearing  your  weakness,  and  being 
ready  so  to  do  till  you  have  become  sufficiently  strong  to  endure 

*  MSS.  Gen.  June  1,  1553. 


456  PRECEPTS    OF    RESIGNATION.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

his  inflictions.  But,  whatever  may  happen,  allow  not  yourself 
to  be  depressed  either  through  negligence  or  despair.  Many  are 
conquered  because,  while  flattering  themselves,  they  suffer  their 
zeal  to  grow  cold  ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  are  so  terrified  not  to 
find  in  themselves  the  strength  which  they  hoped  to  possess,  that 
they  sink  and  give  up  all  for  lost.  What  should  we  do  then? 
Let  us  animate  ourselves  by  the  consideration  of  God's  promises, 
which  will  serve  us  as  a  guide  and  raise  our  thoughts  to  heaven, 
that  we  may  learn  to  despise  this  vain  and  transitory  life  ;  and 
let  us  again  meditate  on  his  threatenings,  that  they  may  inspire 
us  with  dread  of  his  judgments.  If  you  feel  not  your  heart 
moved  as  it  ought  to  be,  seek  help  from  him,  without  whom  we 
can  do  nothing  ;  strive  to  overcome  your  coldness  and  weakness, 
till  you  discover  traces  of  improvement. 

"Much  foresight  is  necessary  in  this  labor.  On  the  one  side, 
you  ought  unceasingly  to  sigh,  and  to  cherish  such  sorrow  of 
heart  for  your  condition,  and  such  anguish  for  your  wretchedness, 
as  to  leave  you  no  rest ;  and,  on  the  other,  you  should  not  doubt 
but  that  God,  however  little  appearance  there  may  now  be  of  it, 
will  give  you  strength  in  due  time.  It  must  not  discourage  you 
to  behold  the  poof  church  of  God  so  suffering,  and  the  pride  of 
its  enemies  increasing  with  their  cruelty.  Rather  wonder  that 
this  is  so  new  to  you ;  for  the  thought  should  never  have  been 
absent  from  your  heart,  that  wre  ought  to  become  more  and 
more  like  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  to  bear  patiently  the 
reproach  of  his  cross  till  the  day  of  our  triumph  come.  Neglect 
not  this,  but  let  it  serve  for  your  encouragement  in  the  fulfilment 
of  your  course,  for  you  will  have  still  further  trials  to  endure.  If 
I  hear  that  you  are  deprived  of  the  little  freedom  left  you,  but  do 
not  cease  to  preserve  a  right  disposition,  nor  prove  unfaithful  to 
Him,  who  so  well  deserves  that  his  honor  should  be  worth 
more  to  us  than  all  besides,  then  will  my  jov  be  more 
complete.  But  even  now  do  I  rejoice  in  the  good  confidence 
which  I  have  in  you.  Do  not  therefore  distress  me  by 
deceiving  this  hope,  still  looking  as  you  should  ever  do  to 
our  good  God,  and  our  Lord  Jesus,  who  has  shown  how  dear  we 
are  to  Him,  by  offering  up  himself  for  our  redemption.  So 
bear  yourself  therefore  as  to  shame  Satan  and  his  ministers, 
who  have  hoped  to  trample  your  faith  in  the  dust.  But 
since  such  a  victory  requires  a  greater  strength  than  you  pos- 
sess, flee  to  our  good  Lord  Jesus,  who  is  made  to  us  of  God  for 
righteousness,  that    in  him    we    may   be    able  to  do  all  things. 


A.D.  1541-49.]  A    COMMUNITY    REBUKED.  457 

I  on  my  part  will  pray  God  that  it  may  please  Him  so  to  pour 
the  grace  of  his  spirit  into  your  soul,  that  you  may  experience 
what  it  is  to  be  strengthened  by  God  and  to  glorify  him.  1  will 
beseech  him  to  take  you  into  his  holy  keeping,  and  to  defend  you 
against  the  rage  of  the  wolf  and  the  cunning  of  the  fox;  where- 
fore I  commend  myself  in  humility  to  your  benevolence  and  your 
prayers." 

8.  Two  years  before  his  death — that  is  In  1562 — he  wrote  a 
letter  to  a  community  accused  of  great  licentiousness,  and  shows 
with  what  authority  he  could  address  churches,  and  with  what 
wisdom  he  could  admonish  the  erring.  The  following  is  the 
epistle  referred  to,  in  a  somewhat  abridged  form  : — "  Would  to 
God,  my  very  beloved  brethren,  that  I  had  to  write  on  a  more 
agreeable  subject,  and  that  I  could  afford  more  satisfaction  by 
my  letter.  I  pray  you  take  it  not  amiss  in  me  if  I  trouble  you 
for  a  little  while,  seeing  that  this  is  the  only  means  whereby  we 
may  restore  to  you  that  joy  in  the  Lord  of  which  you  have  been 
deprived.  Ah  !  how  far  happier  would  it  be  for  me  to  be  able  to 
admire  your  faith,  your  patience,  your  love,  and  only  to  have  to 
exhort  you  to  go  on  the  same  course  !  Since  however  your  sal- 
vation is  dear  and  precious  to  me,  I  am  constrained  to  speak  of 
something  else,  and  earnestly  to  represent  that  the  things  which 
I  hear  of  you  do  not  agree  with  the  Gospel  which  you  have  re- 
ceived from  the  Lord.  Thus  Paul  himself,  who  had  so  much 
love  and  tenderness  of  heart,  said  to  the  Corinthians,  that  they 
had  themselves  obliged  him  to  treat  them  with  severity  ;  and  he 
afterwards  declared  that  he  did  not  regret  having  done  so,  if  the 
sorrow  which  his  epistle  had  caused  did  but  awaken  in  them  the 
sighs  of  a  true  repentance." 

"Your  lives,"  he  continues,  "create  great  uneasiness  in  the 
minds  of  the  pious,  and  give  occasion  to  the  wicked  to  reproach 
the  name  of  God  and  his  holy  doctrine.  I  think  it  right  to  hide 
nothing  from  you,  but  to  expose  to  you  your  whole  shame,  that 
you  may  be  able  to  apply  the  proper  means  of  recovery.  I  know 
that  the  physicians  who  employ  only  gentle  remedies,  and  do  uot 
cut  through  the   ulcer,   are   more  agreeable  to  the  patient  than 

those    who    cure    him    by    cutting   deep    into    the   sore 

It  is  reported  of  you  that  the  love  which  you  once  had  for  the 
preaching  of  the  divine  Word  is  grown  very  cold,  and  this  is 
said  to  be  proved  by  the  horrible  vices  laid  to  your  charge,  by 
your  reckless  mode  of  living,  and  by  the  shameful  licentious- 
ness which  I  abhor  to  think  of.     Still  further,  it  is  said  that  you 


458  EXHORTATION    TO    PENITENCE.  [cHAP.   VIII. 

tear  each  other  by  wretched  falsehoods  and  slanderings,  instead 
of  endeavoring  to  edify  one  another.  Hatred,  dissension  and 
envy  rule  among  you;  nor  satisfied  with  strife,  you  even  come 
to  blows.  This  is  the  fruit  of  your  contempt  for  divine  doctrine, 
which  ought  to  have  been  as  a  bridle  to  keep  you  in  the  way 
of  purity  and  holiness.  The  source  of  these  evils  is  your 
diminished  love  for  the  Word  of  God.  Those  who  disrest  that 
heavenly  food  well,  hunger  continually  for  it;  while  those  whom 
it  oppresses  and  disgusts,  reject  that  which  they  had  received. 
I  know  that  you  have  not  been  instructed  as  there  is  reason  to 
wish  you  had.  But  you  seek  neither  the  common  nor  the  espe- 
cial means  of  edification,  as  you  ought  to  do.  Whereas,  were 
you  a  hundred  times  more  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  the  treasures  of  godly  wisdom  are  so  great,  that  you  would 
always  find  them  affording  new  riches.  The  most  learned  doc- 
tors will  remain  their  whole  life  through  only  poor  scholars 
therein.  But  even  did  you  not  need  the  knowledge  of  holy 
Scripture,  is  not  admonition  necessary  to  restrain  your  vices? 
It  is  in  itself  a  great  sin,  an  instance  of  unpardonable  ingrati- 
tude, that  you  go  not  forward,  but  backward.  Paul  says,  'Let 
the  Word  of  God  dwell  richly  in  you.'  Confess  therefore  your 
sin  in  this,  that  you  have  not  cared  to  learn  the  will  of  God  ; 
and  remember  that  you  must  diligently  meditate  on  the  holy 
Scriptures,  to  confirm  your  knowledge  of  their  doctrine.  As  dis- 
like to  ordinary  food  is  a  sign  of  bodily  sickness,  so  is  it  a  still 
surer  sign  of  spiritual  sickness,  when  the  soul  has  lost  its  taste 
for  the  Word  of  God.  The  greatness  of  this  evil  is  further  seen 
from  its  wretched  consequences.  I  say  not  this  to  increase  the 
pain  which  your  disgrace  has  caused  you,  but  to  show  you  in 
what  danger  you  stand.  Is  it  not  true  that  the  name  of  God, 
for  which  we  cannot  cherish  too  profound  a  reverence,  has  been 
shamefully  dishonored  among  you?  Not  mere  idle  oaths,  but 
blasphemies  are  on  the  lips  of  all.  How  can  you  believe  in  God 
— you  who  live  in  such  thoughtless  security,  that  that  terrible 
threatening,  '  The  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  who  laketh 
his  name  in  vain,'  affects  you  not?  But  will  He,  who  leaves  not 
those  unpunished  who  swear  lightly,  suffer  his  honor  to  be  as- 
sailed by  such  fearful  offences  without  severely  punishing  the 
guilty?  It  is  possible  that  you  should  so  despise  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  and  so  mock  and  insult  it?  If  you  do  not  re- 
pent of  these  sins,  you  will  sooner  or  later  learn,  by  the  suffer- 
ings with  which  the  Lord  will  visit  you,  what  high  worth  those 


A.D.  1541-49.]       EXHORTATION    TO    PENITENCE.  459 

things  have  in  his  eyes  which  you  tread  underfoot.  He  has 
already  let  you  feel  his  displeasure.  The  excesses  in  which  you 
indulge  are  themselves  a  scourge  for  your  wickedness.  Hear 
what  Paul  says  of  those  who  know  God,  but  honor  Him  not 
as  God:  'Wherefore  also  God  gave  them  up  to  uncleanness.' 
And  here  he  speaks  of  a  heathen  people,  who  had  not.  like  you, 
seen  the  brightness  of  the  heavenly  light.  But  impiously  treat- 
ing as  you  do  the  name  of  the  Lord,  while  walking  in  the  light 
of  the  Gospel,  I  do  not  wonder  that  He  makes  you  feel  the 
effects  of  his  righteous  judgment.  Hence  the  shameful  dis- 
order, the  licentiousness,  the  iniquities  practised  among  you, 
and  which  fill  even  unbelievers  with  horror.  I  have  indeed  seen 
nothing  myself,  but  the  scandal  which  you  occasion  is  so  gener- 
ally known,  that  it  is  open  as  the  day  you  are  only  too  deserv- 
ing* of  punishment.  If  you  but  reflected  on  the  word  of  Paul, 
who  admonishes  us  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  evil,  you 
would  surely  avoid  sin  with  more  care.  God  allows  the  evil 
deeds  of  the  wicked  to  remain  for  a  time  concealed,  that  they 
who  have  rejoiced  to  commit  iniquity  tinder  the  covering  of  dark- 
ness, may  be  overwhelmed  with  confusion  when  they  see  them- 
selves discovered. 

"In  this  manner  the  Lord  is  wont  to  lead  us  to  repentance, 
For  the  rest,  it  is  not  unknown  to  you  what  the  Scriptures  say 
respecting  the  sins  of  uncleanness, — that  they  call  down  the  curse 
and  vengeance  of  God  upon  the  offenders  ;  that  those  who  com- 
mit them  enter  not  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  for  that  they 
thereby  pollute  the  body,  which  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  incur  a  guilt  which  separates  them  from  the  body  of  Christ. 
Lastly,  this  kind  of  sin  brands  the  soul  with  a  peculiar  mark, 
with  a  pollution  not  common  to  other  offences.  But  your  licen- 
tiousness has  proceeded  beyond  the  ordinary  bounds  of  guilt, 
and  is  such  as  even  the  heathen  would  have  abhorred.  Paul 
declares  to  the  Corinthians,  that  if  there  were  any  such  sinners 
among  them  who  did  not  repent,  it  was  a  fresh  cause  of  grief  to 
him,  and  that  he  was  a  partaker  in  their  shame.  How  much 
more  then  ought  they  who  have  actually  defiled  themselves  with 
sin,  to  seek  refuge  in  the  most  tearful  repentance,  and  the  deep- 
est humility  !  And  since  you  are  all,  as  members  of  one  and 
the  same  body,  partakers  in  the  common  guilt,  the  confession  of 
this  fearful  iniquity  ought  to  move  you  profoundly,  to  excite  you 
to  mote  diligence  than  you  have  hitherto  used,  and  to  induce 
you   to  promote  edification,  as  well  by  word  as  by  the  example 


460  EXHORTATION    TO    PENITENCE.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

of  your  conduct.  Some  among'  you  are  accused  of  delighting  in 
a  certain  species  of  wicked  buffoonery,  and  of  being  full  of  rude 
jests,  with  which  they  assail  their  brethren.  But  Paul  says  ex- 
pressly, that  biting  words  and  foolish  sayings  do  not  become 
Christians.  Let  these  things  therefore  be  far  from  you,  and  by 
so  much  the  more,  as  those  wicked  and  senseless  words  bring 
with  them  evil  works  and  gross  exaggerations,  despising  all  rule 
and  measure.  Hence  we  find  among  you  hatred,  envy  and 
malice,  proving  too  clearly  that  the  kingdom  of  God  does  not 
abide  among  you,  although  charity,  as  the  Scripture  says,  covers 
a  multitude  of  sins.  Nor  can  I  sufficiently  wonder  how  you 
find  time  for  such  things,  surrounded  as  you  are  by  so  many 
enemies,  who  think  of  nothing  but  how  they  may  injure  you. 
If  a  third  enemy  arises,  the  Guelphs  and  the  Ghibellines  rush 
together.  You  will  therefore  perceive  that  I  only  write  to  you 
thus  severely  because  it  was  necessary  to  arouse  you.  Had 
you  not  been  slumbering  till  now  in  so  deep  a  lethargy,  you 
would  not  have  allowed  yourselves  to  become  involved  in  such  a 
load  of  iniquities.  Weak  are  we  indeed  all  our  lives  long,  but 
what  I  have  accused  you  of  is  true  wickedness  and  pollution. 
I  will  not  however  drive  your  souls  to  despair  through  my  cen- 
sures;  my  end  is  rather  to  induce  you  to  place  your  hope  in  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord,  who  is  ready  to  meet  all  those  who  turn  to 
him.  The  evils  which  I  have  represented  to  you  are  of  such  a 
kind,  that  they  cover  you  with  shame  and  disgrace.  They  ought 
therefore  to  inspire  you  with  this  reflection,  that  God's  honor 
may  even  be  glorified  by  your  offences  ;  that  is,  if  you  seek  your 
good  in  his  healing  mercy,  for  you  will  assuredly  not  call  in  vain 
upon  the  name  of  this  most  gracious  Father.  In  the  mean  lime, 
remember  that  it  is  your  duty,  as  taught  by  the  Lord  himself, 
to  practise  a  true  repentance.  Employ  more  diligence  in  the 
leading  of  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the  other  exercises  of  piety. 
Put  away  from  you,  once  for  all,  those  shameful  sins  of  which 
you  have  been  guilty.  So  regard  the  name  of  the  Lord  that  it 
may  never  be  pronounced  among  you  but  to  his  greatest  honor. 
Let  every  one  so  live  in  his  house,  that  he  may  no(  incur  even 
the  suspicion  of  unchastity.  Be  careful  to  subdue  all  the  ex- 
cesses of  pride  and  wantonness,  so  unbecoming  Christians,  and 
to  destroy  hatred  and  enmity  in  their  very  roots,  resolutely  re- 
moving the  causes  of  them,  that  is,  unfaithfulness  and  wicked- 
ness. Let  the  pride  which  would  make  us  subject  everything 
to  ourselves  no  longer  exist  among  you.      Pray  especially  that 


A.D.  1541-49.]  CONSOLATION    IN    EXILE.  461 

the  Lord  may  cast  a  look  of  mercy  upon  you,  and  put  away  the 
remembrance  of  your  past  sins,  that  He  may  the  more  effec- 
tually lead  you  back  to  his  service.  Your  conversion  is  his 
work,  and  He  must  accomplish  it  in  his  own  especial  way  ;  other- 
wise you  will  be  in  danger,  and  well-known  examples  show  the 
peril  of  sacfa  a  course,  of  mocking  the  Lord  with  your  follies. 
Beware  of  hardening  your  hearts  against  this  admonition,  lest 
you  fall  into  the  condemnation  of  those  who,  having  cast  away 
divine  grace,  kindle  a  fire  against  themselves  in  which  they  are 
at  last  consumed.  But  I  hope  better  things  of  you,  and  trust 
that  I  may  soon  hear  that  of  you  which  will  remove  my  present 
distress.  I  pray  to  the  Lord  that  the  gifts  which  He  bestows 
upon  you  may  not  prove  fruitless,  and  that  He  may  raise  you 
again  after  your  fall ;  so  that  we  may  all  behold  in  you  the  surest 
evidence  of  his  unfathomable  mercy,  and  that  his  holy  name  may 
be  more  honored  among  you  than  before." 

9.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  an  unpublished  letter, 
dated  September  13,  1553,  and  addressed  to  a  lady  who  had 
voluntarily  left  her  native  land  for  the  sake  of  the  pure  doctrine. 
She  was  on  her  way  to  Geneva,  when  she  was  seized  by  some 
catholic  priests.  Calvin  earnestly  exhorted  her  to  persevere 
with  heroic  courage,  and  to  use  no  evasions.  "If  we  find  our- 
selves," he  says,  "in  such  necessity,  that  no  other  means  can 
be  found  to  deliver  us  from  the  tyranny  of  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  but  those  subterfuges  which  might  turn  us  from  the  right 
path,  there  can  then  be  no  doubt  that  God  has  called  upon  us 
to  seal  our  faith  with  our  blood.  If  it  come  to  this  therefore, 
that  you  must  turn  either  to  the  right  or  the  left,  rather  die: 
and  that  neither  threats  nor  anything  else  may  be  able  to  shake 
your  resolution,  direct  your  regard  to  the  Son  of  God,  who  did 
not  refuse  to  give  his  life  for  our  salvation,  that  we  might  not 
think  ours  too  precious  to  be  devoted  to  his  service  :  look  also 
to  the  heavenly  crown,  which  is  prepared  for  those  who  have 
conquered  in  the  struggle.  Guard  yourself  above  all  things 
against  drawing  back,  instead  of  pressing  forward  to  the  mark 
which  God  holds  out  to  you." 

Having  given  the  unfortunate  lady  such  counsel  as  her  par- 
ticular circumstances  required,  he  concludes  with  these  words: 
"For  the  rest,  you  must  pray  God,  and  this  I  do  with  you,  that 
He  may  give  you  the  spirit  of  prudence  to  choose  that  which  is 
most  fitting,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  that   you    may  be  preserved 


462  EXHORTATION    TO    FORTITUDE.  [cHAP.  VIII. 

from  error,  and  the  spirit  of  power  to  be  able  constantly  to  do  his 
will." 

10.  We  extract  from  an  imprinted  letter,  dated  February  25, 
1554,  the  following  admonition  addressed  to  a  convert  at  Poitou : 
it  warns  him  against  being  a  mere  nominal  Christian  : — "The 
name  of  Christian  flies  from  mouth  to  mouth,  but  when  men 
are  called  upon  to  humble  themselves  under  the  Gospel,  which 
is  the  sceptre  with  which  Christ  exercises  his  dominion  over  us, 
they  almost  all  turn  away.  Yea,  it  is  only  too  common  for 
people  to  adorn  themselves  hypocritically  with  the  name  of 
Christian,  and  then  to  desecrate  it.  It  is  therefore  no  little  vir- 
tue to  prove  ourselves  by  action  true  disciples  of  the  Son  of 
God.  You  must  accordingly  so  much  the  more  intensely  feel 
his  mercy,  which  has  led  you  so  far ;  for  it  is  not  our  work  when 
we  come  to  Him,  but  He  draws  us  to  Himself;  and  that  his 
goodness  may  shine  the  more  brightly,  and  be  the  better  under- 
stood, He  separates  us  from  the  rest,  the  poor  blind  sinners, 
whom  we  see  wandering  about  us  ;  and  shows  us,  as  in  a  glass, 
the  wretched  condition  in  which  we  should  be  without  Him, 
and  this,  that  we  may  glorify  Him  the  more  for  having  delivered 
us  from  the  horrible  darkness  of  death.  Therefore  consider,  Sir, 
the  whole  worth  of  the  treasure  which  God  bestows  upon  you, 
and  make  good  use  of  it.  When  we  see  the  iniquity  which 
everywhere  prevails,  and  the  violence  of  Satan  against  those  who 
take  the  right  way,  we  must  feel  the  necessity  of  turning  our 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  praying  for  strength  and  perseverance  to 
resist.  If  we  wish  to  be  made  partakers  of  the  glory  of  our  Re- 
deemer, we  must  be  ready  to  bear  the  shame  of  his  cross.  I 
therefore  pray  you,  as  the  necessity  increases,  to  stir  up  and 
animate  yourself,  to  contend  resolutely  against  Satan  and  the 
world,  and  to  die  more  and  more  unto  yourself,  that  you  may 
be  renewed  in  God.  And  since,  in  order  to  love,  we  must  have 
knowledge,  I  beseech  you  to  read  diligently  those  exhortations 
which  lead  thereto.  The  coldness  which  we  see  in  so  many, 
comes  from  the  negligence  which  allows  them  to  imagine  that 
enough  has  been  done  if  they  have  snatched,  in  a  passing  way, 
some  few  words  of  holy  Scripture.  We  ought  on  the  central  v. 
'  as  St.  Paul  says,  to  become  more  and  more  like  the  Lord  JesiH 
Christ,  by  beholding  him  in  the  mirror  of  his  Gospel,  and  so  to 
advance  from  glory  to  glory.  He  hereby  shows,  that  the  betu-r 
we  know  Christ,  the  more  nobly  will  his   grace   and  power  ope- 


A.D.  1541-49.]        EXHORTATION    TO    FORTITUDE.  463 

rate  in  our  souls.  Strive  therefore  to  learn  more  and  more,  and 
especially  from  the  consideration  that  you  have  your  children  to 
think  of,  whom  God  has  entrusted  to  you.  that  you  may  conse- 
crate them  to  Him,  and  that  he  may  be  their  Father,  even  as 
He  is  yours.  Be  careful  therefore  to  bring  them  up  in  his  fear, 
and  to  preserve  them  from  the  filth  and  pollution  in  which  we 
have  been  sunk.  1  know  that  the  obstacles  which  Satan  places 
in  our  path  are  difficult  to  overcome.  Hence  I  admonish  you 
to  educate  them  rather  as  looking  forwards  to  an  inheritance  in 
heaven,  than  as  anxious  for  the  perishable  riches  and  honors  of 
the  present  world." 

11.  He  thus  addresses  a  reformed  congregation  in  a  letter 
dated  June,  1554  :* — "  Beloved  brethren  !  while  we  heartily  sym- 
pathize with  your  afflictions,  so  do  we  rejoice  and  praise  God 
for  the  steadfastness  which  He  has  given  you,  neither  fear  nor 
threatenings  hindering  your  fidelity  to  Him  and  to  the  truth, 
his  honor  being  to  us  dearer  than  life  itself.  We  know  indeed 
that  if  we  resign  this  world  for  the  glory  of  heaven,  we  make  an 
exchange  by  which  we  can  lose  nothing,  but  must  rather  gain 
an  unspeakable  advantage.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  take  cour- 
age and  walk  on  the  straight  path  which  is  appointed  us.  Be 
not  deceived  by  the  example  of  those  who,  after  they  had  tasted 
the  word  of  life,  fell  into  condemnation.  You  know  that  the 
way  of  salvation  is 'a  narrow  way,  and  that  few  have  humility 
enough  to  follow  Christ,  or  to  bear  his  cross.  They  prefer  in- 
dulging their  vanity.  You  do  well  to  meet  together  to  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  to  hear  good  and  holy  doctrine  ;  and 
the  more  especially  as  God  has  given  grace  to  some  among  you 
to  edify  the  rest.  Our  weakness  renders  such  exercises  neces- 
sary, and  will  do  so  till  we  have  left  this  transitory  life  ;  Satan, 
in  the  mean  time,  striving  with  all  his  power  to  destroy  our  faith. " 
Calvin  next  shows  the  community,  which  he  thus  addresses, 
what  ought  to  be  done  in  its  difficult  circumstances  respecting 
the  sacraments.  In  his  anxiety  as  a  pastor,  looking  not  merely 
to  individuals,  but  to  whole  churches,  it  is  interesting  to  see  how 
he  desired  that  each  congregation  should  be  regulated  accord- 
ing to  the  order  of  the  Gospel.  As  soon  as  a  useful  man  was 
found,  who  felt  himself  called  to  teach,  the  life  of  the  congregation 
commenced. 

12.  To  some  believers  in  Poitou  he  thus  wrote,  September 
id,  1554 : — "  Do  not  deprive  yourselves  of  the  privilege  of  calling 

*  MSS.  Gen. 


464  CONGREGATIONAL    WORSHIP.  [cHAP.  VIII 

upon  God,  and  hearing  useful  discourses  and  admonitions,  as  a 
congregation.  For  although  every  one  may,  and  ought,  to  pray 
to  God  for  himself  in  secret,  and  may  read  the  Scriptures  at 
home,  it  is  yet  well  pleasing  to  God  to  behold  us  assembling 
together  in  order  to  present  to  Him  our  solemn  supplications, 
and  the  offering  of  our  souls  and  bodies.  When  the  wicked- 
ness of  men  prevents  our  doing  this  openly,  we  ought  at  least, 
according  to  the  word  of  Scripture,  to  praise  Him  with  his 
people,  and  to  assemble  here  and  there  in  little  parties  (ill  all 
the  members  of  the  church  are  united  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
I  know  that  you  can  only  assemble  with  great  danger,  and  that 
you  are  watched  by  the  enemy.  But  the  fear  of  persecution 
must  not  deter  us  from  seeking  the  living  pastures,  and  follow- 
ing our  good  Shepherd.  Commend  yourselves  to  Him,  and  be 
of  good  courage.  He  will  then  show  that  He  cares  for  his  poor 
lambs,  and  that  it  is  his  peculiar  office  to  save  them  from  the 
jaws  of  the  wolf.  We  see  how  it  fares  with  those  who  separate 
themselves  :  they  sink  into  such  negligence,  that  they  at  length 
lose  all  sense  of  good,  and  wholly  estrange  themselves  from  the 
work  of  their  salvation.  Therefore,  dear  brethren,  be  steadfast, 
and  show  that  your  zeal  was  not  as  a  passing  gale  of  wind,  but 
let.  it  increase  more  and  more.  I  do  not  say  that  you  ought  not 
to  guard  yourselves  from  useless  danger,  for  God  is  too  indul- 
gent towards  us  not  to  allow  us  to  avoid  the' fury  of  the  wicked. 
There  is  a  middle  way  between  timidity  and  rashness;  that  is, 
such  a  fear  as  neither  lames  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  nor  turns 
us  away  from  the  means  of  salvation  which  God  gives  us.  Keep 
yourselves  therefore  quietly  in  your  retirement,  but  not  so  as  to 
close  the  door  to  those  who  wish  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God 
with  you.  Strive  to  win  as  many  souls  for  the  Lord  as  possible. 
For  the  rest,  this  social  worship  of  God  must  urge  you  to  bring 
up  your  families  with  so  much  the  more  care;  for  when  a  man 
returns  from  such  an  assembly,  he  will  show  that  he  has  been 
strengthened  for  better  things  ;  he  will  have  the  odor  of  sanctity 
about  him,  which  will  diffuse  itself  over  the  whole  house,  and 
his  entire  life  will  be  in  harmony  with  his  profession.  The 
world  in  our  days  being  in  so  wretched  a  state,  you  ought  to  be 
so  much  the  more  careful  not  to  fall  aiming  its  thorns.  Short 
also  as  is  l lie  lime  of  our  pilgrimage,  if  we  think  of  the  joy  which 
God  has  prepared  for  us  in  eternity,  we  shall  not  grow  weary 
before  half  our  course  is  run.  Yea,  if  we  think  of  the  inesti- 
mable treasures  provided  for  us  by  our  heavenly  Father,  of  these 


A.D.  1541-49.]         EXHORTATION    TO    FORTITUDE.  465 

boundless  riches  of  his  grace  which  He  has  made  known  to  us, 
we  must  be  degenerate  indeed  if  we  feel  not  moved  and  incited 
to  devote  ourselves  to  his  service  ;  or  rather,  if  we  be  not  so  en- 
raptured with  his  love  as  to  forget  both  ourselves,  and  all  that  can 
bind  us  to  the  present  world." 

13.  Calvin  had  sent  two  preachers  to  a  church.  He  praises 
the  steadfastness  of  the  community,  which,  in  spite  of  persecu- 
tion, persevered  in  keeping  up  its  religious  services,  and  de- 
scribes the  pious  zeal  of  the  two  ministers,  whilst  he  admonishes 
the  congregation  to  honor  them  by  obedience  and  faithfulness, 
and  so  to  recompense  them  for  the  offering  which  they  brought 
it.  He  says,  "We  are  so  much  the  more  convinced  that  you 
will  receive  them  well,  and  will  strive  to  learn  of  then),  since 
this  will  be  to  encourage  them  to  labor  more  and  more  dili- 
gently, when  they  see  that  their  efforts  are  not  in  vain.  What- 
ever the  storms  which  Satan  excites  against  you,  your  steadfast- 
ness and  patience  in  the  ways  of  God  must  never  be  shaken. 
To  persevere  in  that  which  is  good,  we  must  resist  temptation. 
We  mention  this,  because  we  have  lately  heard  of  the  oppres- 
sion to  which  your  neighbors  are  exposed.  But  far  be  it  from 
you  to  allow  the  fear  of  similar  attacks  to  damp  your  zeal ;  let  it 
rather  incite  you  to  arm  yourselves  more  effectually,  that  you 
may  not  be  overcome  in  the  approaching  conflict.  We  know 
well  that  you  cannot  altogether  avoid  some  feeling  of  alarm  at 
the  first  view  of  these  things.  Faith  may  still  be  weak  in  some 
of  you;  but  if  you  feel  your  weakness,  hasten  to  Him  who  can 
fortify  you  with  invincible  strength,  and  you  will  discover  that 
He  is  ever  present  to  his  people  as  a  sure  support.  It  is  in  all 
respects  a  sad  condition  to  be  oppressed  and  afflicted  for  that 
which  is  good  ;  but  since  the  Lord,  whom  we  dare  not  resist,  has 
subjected  us  to  it,  we  must  submit,  and  take  as  it  were  the 
bridle  in  our  mouths,  in  order,  according  to  his  own  admoni- 
tion, to  keep  our  souls  in  patience;  which  we  cannot  do,  unless, 
following  the  example  of  David,  we  regard  God's  mercy  as  bet- 
ter than  all  that  is  in  the  world,  and  resign  ourselves  wholly  to 
his  protection,  being  content  rather  to  waste  away  in  misery, 
hemmed  in  by  a  thousand  kinds  of  death,  than  to  doubt  his 
word  and  make  our  escape  through  the  slough.  Were  we  truly 
convinced  that  God  will  remain  faithful  to  all  his  precious  prom- 
ises, and  that  the  most  acceptable  offering  we  can  make  Him 
is  to  depend   confidently  upon   them,  we  should  not  be  so  negli- 

vol.  i.— 30 


466  LETTERS    TO    NOBLE    PERSONAGES.        [CHAP.  Till. 

gent  and  backward  to  serve  Him  as  witnesses,  when  He  calls 
upon  us  to  render  our  testimony. 

"  And  further :  while  He  shields  us  with  his  protecting  arm, 
with  more  care  than  the  hen  gathers  her  young  under  her  wing, 
bo  will  He  certainly  not  suffer  the  enemy  to  gain  any  advantage 
over  us,  unless  to  prove  our  faith,  and  in  so  far  as  it  may  tend  to 
our  good.  Let  us  therefore  learn  to  rest  assured,  that  if  we  act 
according  to  his  commands,  we  are  not  forsaken,  but  that  He 
ever  stretches  out  his  hand  over  us ;  yea,  that  all  the  angels  are 
such  protecting  hands  for  us,  as  He  has  promised.  While  you 
see  therefore  that  freedom  is  given  to  Satan  to  afflict  and  sore 
oppress  the  poor  church,  do  you  assemble  together  under  the 
banner  of  Jesus  Christ;  go,  that  is,  into  his  school,  that  you  may 
daily  become  better  instructed  therein,  and  pray  God  for  your  poor 
little  congregation  of  redeemed  ones  ;  that  it  may  please  Him  to 
have  pity  on  you,  and  on  your  brethren,  who  are  engaged  in  a 
like  conflict." 

From  the  same  rich  store  of  manuscript  letters  we  select  the 
following  passages.  To  a  lady  who,  after  her  conversion,  re- 
turned to  the  world  and  then  repented,  he  wrote,  Feb.  2,  1552: 
— "  The  devil  gained  indeed  so  excellent  a  victory,  that  we  were 
constrained  to  bow  our  head  with  a  sigh.  But  our  good  God  is 
always  ready  to  pardon  and  receive  us  again,  when  we  have 
fallen,  lest  it  should  be  a  fall  unto  death  ;  and  therefore  I  pray 
you  to  take  courage ;  and  if  the  enemy  has  once  gained  an  ad- 
vantage over  us,  through  our  weakness,  we  must  allow  him  no 
perfect  triumph,  but  must  show  that  those  whom  God  has  raised 
up  again,  are  prepared  with  redoubled  strength  for  all  conflicts." 

The  letters  which  Calvin  wrote  about  this  time  to  the  king  of 
Navarre,  to  queen  Johanna,  queen  Margaret,  and  to  some  of  the 
nobility  of  France,  as  the  lord  and  lady  Coligny,  are  remarkable 
for  the  dignity  and  force  with  which  he  addressed  the  great  on 
spiritual  subjects. 

15.  The  following  passage  occurs  in  a  letter  to  the  duke  of 
Longueville : — "Every  earthly  band  must  be  trodden  under- 
foot, to  give  honor  to  the  Lord  alone,  on  whom  all  these  rela 
tions  are  dependent.  You  know  by  experience  that  1  have  r  i- 
aon  to  say  this.  Much  contradiction  must  be  endured;  nor 
can  you  yield  without  becoming  false  to  Him  who  has  purchased 
you  at  so  great  a  price,  that  you  might  be  consecrated  to  his 
service.     Arm  yourself  therefore  with  such  courage,  that  neither 


A.D.  1541-49.]  LETTERS    TO    PRISONERS.  467 

the  favor  nor  the  hatred  of  men  may  be  able  to  keep  you  back 
from  glorifying-  Him,  who  so  well  deserves  to  be  preferred  before 
all  mortal  and  perishable  creatures.  But  while  so  many,  who 
call  themselves  faithful,  are  devoted  to  sinful  pleasures,  take  heed 
that  you  do  not  follow  their  example,  lest  the  light  which  God 
has  given  you  be  extinguished.  Learn  to  bear  the  yoke  of  Christ ; 
you  will  find  it  soft  and  easy." 

16.  In  a  letter  to  a  lady,  who  was  striving  for  knowledge  and 
salvation,  he  thus  expresses  himself: — "He  who  pleases  himself 
in  his  wickedness,  closes,  as  it  were,  the  door  against  God,  and 
prevents  his  having  mercy  upon  him." 

17.  On  the  23d  of  February,  1559.  he  wrote  to  Legrant : — 
"  I  should  never  have  expected  to  find  you  guilty  of  such 
madness  as  to  listen  to  the  falsehoods  of  Satan,  in  that  cursed 
school  which  sets  at  naught  all  religion,  and  tempts  men  to 
licentiousness,  making  a  mock  of  God  and  whatever  is  holy. 
Experience  shows  what  fine  things  you  have  learnt  there, — to 
scatter  jests  about,  like  deadly  poison,  and  so  to  scandalize  the 
poor  and  already  distracted  church.  Reflect  on  the  words, — 
'Woe  to  him  through  whom  offences  come.'  I  spare  you  not, 
that  God  may  spare  you.  I  will  let  you  feel  your  wretchedness, 
that  you  may  the  more  willingly  seek  the  cure.  Trust  not  to 
your  folly,  but  return  to  the  fold  of  Christ,  and  be  assured  that 
all  who  loved  you  in  former  times  will  be  filled  with  joy  to  be  able 
to  love  you  again  more  than  ever.  And  I  especially,  if  I  hear 
those  good  tidings,  will  no  more  think  of  the  sins  which  your 
heavenly  Father  may,  I  trust,  have  forgiven  you,  but  shall  love 
you  with  greater  tenderness,  and  feel  myself  freed  from  my  pres^ 
ent  anguish.  And  now  I  pray  God  to  guide  you  by  his  Spirit, 
and  to  be  with  your  family." 

18.  In  a  letter  to  some  prisoners,  who  were  doubting  whether 
they  might  not  defend  themselves,  he  gives  the  fine  apostolic 
counsel  not  to  do  it,  and  says, — "Such  plans  of  defence  never 
come  from  God." 

19.  In  a  letter  to  the  young  lady  de  Longeman,  who  was  im- 
prisoned in  Paris  on  account  of  her  faith,  he  admonishes  her  not 
to  shrink  from  martyrdom,  urging  this  heroic  sentiment: — "A 
man  may  lose  an  eternal  crown  by  endeavoring  to  save  only 
three  days  of  his  life."  Other  letters  also  were  addressed  to  the 
same  persons,  till  they  gained  the  victory.  The  following  for 
example,  was  sent  in  1558,  to  Audelot,  a  prisoner  at  Melun: — 

20.  "  You  have  often,  in  earlier  times,  hazarded  your  life  for 


468  CONTROVERSY    WITH    A    JEW.  [cHAP.  VIII. 

your  earthly  princes,  and  would  still  be  ready  to  do  so.  But 
ought  the  great  King  of  heaven  and  earth  to  be  considered  less 
than  they?  We  know  that,  according  to  all  the  rights  of  nature, 
we  ourselves  properly  pertain  to  Him,  for  He  shed  his  blood  for 
our  salvation,  and  all  which  we  do  for  Him  will  prove  useful  and 
salutary  to  us." 

It  is  interesting  also  to  see  how  he  comforts  struggling  souls, 
and  encourages  those  who  have  fallen,  by  his  united  gentleness 
and  severity.  He  accuses  them  of  sin.  but  adds  the  following  ex- 
pression : — "You  should  not  be  sorrowful  overmuch."  Several 
other  letters  exist  in  Crespin's  martyrology,  and  he  repeatedly 
utters  the  beautiful  sentiment: — "So  far  ought  you  to  be  from 
looking  with  horror  at  suffering,  that  you  should  thank  God  for 
the  honor  which  He  has  conferred  upon  you,  in  thus  calling  you, 
while  still  in  your  weakness,  to  suffer  for  his  name's  sake." 

21.  While  Calvin  here  exhibited  the  force  and  nobility  of  his 
spirit,  so,  when  engaged  with  men  of  logical  minds,  he  went  to 
work  as  a  logician  to  destroy  error  in  thejr  souls.  As  illustrations 
of  his  skill  in  utterly  annihilating  sophistical  objections,  we  may 
allude  to  his  confutation  of  the  errors  of  Menno  Simonis  and 
Lelius  Socinus,  and,  still  further,  to  his  treatment  of  the  subtle 
reasonings  of  a  Jew,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  correspondence.* 
Against  Menno's  paradoxical  propositions,  he  supported  the  true 
human  nature  of  Christ,  and  showed  its  actual  union  with  his 
godhead.  In  arguing  with  Lelius,  he  treated  of  the  doctrine  of 
justification,  by  the  free  grace  of  God,  in  agreement  with  the 
merits  of  Christ,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  this  free  grace  of 
God  exhibits  itself  even  in  disbelievers  and  apostates.  In  the 
essay  which  contains  the  defence  of  the  Christian  faith  against 
the  sarcasms  and  quibbles  of  the  Jew,  Calvin  first  enumerates, 
under  twenty-three  heads,  the  objections  of  his  opponent ;  and 
then,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  contrasts  with  them  certain 
difficulties  which  might  be  created  by  a  gross  and  carnal  inter- 
pretation, as  to  the  genuineness  and  contents  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Having  answered  these  supposed  objections,  according  to 
the  true  spiritual  understanding  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  both  old 
and  new,  he  shows  the  nature  of  the  revelation  communicated  by 
both. 

Numberless  questions  were  put  to  Calvin,  not  only  by  individ- 
uals but  by  whole  communities.     His  opinions  had  the  force  of 

«  Ed.  Laua.  Ep.  354,  Ed.  Arost.  pp.  186,  192,  197. 


A.D.   1541-49.]  LAWFULNESS    OF    USURY.  469 

a  law  for  the  synods;  partly  because  his  voice  was  as  that  of  the 
father  of  the  church,  and  he  might  be  considered  almost  as  its 
conscience;  and  partly  because  his  answers  always  met  the  diffi- 
culty, and  were  expressed  with  clearness  and  brevity,  honestly 
and  moderately.  The  national  synod  of  Verteuil  adopted,  in  the 
year  1567,  a  great  number  of  decisions  of  this  kind,  as  canonical. 
They  chiefly  respected  questions  of  marriage  and  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical relations  between  protestants  and  catholics  ;*  but  among 
them  are  the  following. 

He  was  asked  whether  it  was  lawful  to  make  money  by  usury, 
and  especially  whether  it  was  forbidden  the  clergy?  He  an- 
swered, t  "Jeremiah  says.t  'I  have  neither  lent  on  usury,  nor 
men  have  lent  to  me  on  usury.'  If  the  minister  avoid  such 
things  he  will  do  wisely  ;  and  yet,  since  it  is  better  for  him  to 
lend  his  money  on  interest  than  to  be  engaged  in  any  art  or 
traffic  himself,  for  this  might  take  him  from  his  duties,  I  do 
not  see  why  this  should  be  altogether  condemned.  This  condi- 
tion however  might  be  suggested,  that  the  minister  should  not 
lend  his  money  at  a  fixed  interest,  but  should  entrust  it  to  some 
good  and  honorable  man,  and  be  contented  with  such  a  return 
as  the  blessing  arising  from  the  use  of  the  money  might  justify 
his  receiving."  Again,  "If  we  absolutely  condemn  the  receiv- 
ing of  interest  for  money,  we  put  the  conscience  into  closer  bonds 
than  the  Lord  himself  has  done;  but  if  we  allow  the  least  lib- 
erty in  this  respect,  excuse  will  be  taken  to  introduce  the  greatest 
license. "§ 

The  count  of  Cursol,   a   protestant,    had    proposed    to    him  a 

*  Aymon.  Synodes  Nat.  des  Eglises  Ref.  de  F.  T.  i.  pp.  81-87. 

f  Ep.  290.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  217.    "  If.  Chap.  xv.  ver.  10. 

§  Calvin  proceeds  to  show  that  receiving  interest  for  money  is  not  actually  for- 
bidden in  the  Gospel.  What  Christ  says,  Luke  vi.  35,  "  Lend,  hoping  for  nothing 
again,"  is  improperly  applied  to  this  question;  our  Lord  only  commanding  us  thereby 
to  give  our  money  to  the  poor  rather  than  to  the  rich.  He  then  quotes  the  passages 
in  the  Old  Testament  where  usury  is  most  strictly  forbidden,  and  adds,  that  the  Is- 
raelites were  placed  under  circumstances  which  rendered  usury  unnecessary.  We 
however  are  not  so  situated,  and  we  have  therefore  only  to  avoid  doing  aught  which 
is  contrary  to  justice  and  charity.  Money,  he  reasons,  is  a  possession.  Now,  every 
possession  brings  its  proper  return,  as  houses,  lands,  <fec,  and  why  should  not  money  ? 
U.-ury,  therefore,  is  allowable  under  the  following  conditions: — 1.  Money  must  not  be 
lent  to  a  poor  man  in  snch  a  way,  that  if  he  fall  into  misfortune  he  may  be  com- 
pelled to  pay  a  yearly  interest.  2.  He  who  lends  mu?t  not  have  mere  gain  in  view. 
3.  Justice  must  never  be  forgotten,  nor  Christ's  precept,  "  Do  unto  others  as  ye  would 
they  should  do  unto  you."  4.  He  who  receives  the  money  must  gain  as  much  or 
more  from  it.  5.  Our  decision  as  to  the  justice  of  the  proceeding  must  be  according 
to  the  Word  of  Gud,  and  not  according  to  human  notions.  6.  We  must  have  respect 
also  to  the  good  of  the  place  in  which  we  reside.  7.  The  legal  interest  allowed  in 
our  country  must  not  be  exceeded. — Ed.  Amst.  p.  223. 


470  QUESTIONS    OF    CONSCIENCE.  [CHAP.   VIII. 

question  of  conscience,  whether,  that  is,  he  might  attend  his 
prince  to  a  catholic  church?  Calvin  answered,*  "  It  is  not  law- 
ful to  do  so,  because  such  conduct  would  be  a  scandal  to  the 
godly,  and  an  occasion  of  abuse  to  the  wicked.  The  example  of 
Naaman  is  not  applicable  in  this  case,  for  he  was  the  only  wor- 
shipper of  God  in  Syria,  and  could  therefore  give  no  offence  to 
any  one.  He  had  himself  also  an  altar  of  the  true  God.  The 
danger  you  may  be  in  of  losing  your  rank,  and  that  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  church,  is  no  reason  for  your  yielding.  We  must 
not  '  do  evil  that  good  may  come.'  A  proper  apology  to  the 
prince  cannot  be  wanting:  he  would  probably  readily  excuse 
your  absence  for  three  days  in  the  year,  under  the  plea  that  you 
were  not  well."  This  escaped  Calvin  in  the  course  of  writing, 
for  he  adds,  "Suffer  me  to  say  this  in  jest ;  for  really  to  pretend 
a  sickness  would  be  nothing  less  than  to  show  yourself  ashamed 
of  the  Gospel.  If  you  consider  this  maturely,  you  will  conclude 
with  Paul,  that  you  could  not  partake  of  the  holy  sacrament  while 
holding  communion  with  idolaters,  especially  as  in  this  case  it 
would  be  connected  with  scandal.  I  exhort  you  therefore  to  turn 
with  all  your  heart  in  prayer  to  God,  and  to  beseech  Him  to  give 
you  strength  and  the  necessary  weapons,  that  you  may  be  prop- 
erly prepared  for  the  battle  of  the  Lord." 

During  the  persecutions  in  France  he  was  asked,  whether  a 
widow  might  leave  her  children,  if  circumstances  led  her  to  with- 
draw from  a  catholic  country.  He  answered  very  justly,  "  Noth- 
ing ought  to  be  dearer  to  her  than  the  souls  of  her  children  ;  and 
she  can  neither  naturally,  nor  as  a  Christian,  leave  them  behind. 
But  whether  a  married  woman  may  leave  her  husband  on  ac- 
count of  religion,  is  a  difficult  question  to  decide  :  nothing  but 
the  most  manifest  necessity  could  justify  her  doing  so:  severe 
treatment  would  not  be  a  sufficient  reason.  Should  she  however 
be  apparently  in  danger  of  losing  her  life,  through  avoiding  idola- 
try, she  may  then  leave  her  husband." 

A  reformer,  who  had  a  catholic  wife  and  children,  was  obliged 
to  leave  his  country:  he  asked  how  he  ought  to  act  in  respect 
to  his  wife,  and  received  the  following  answer: — "A  pious  man 
having  a  catholic  wife,  and  being  obliged  to  ilee,  will  first  do  all 
that  is  possible,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  convert  her.  Should  he 
however  not  succeed,  and  be  obliged  to  depart,  he  must  not 
leave  her  without  laboring  to  the  uttermost  to  draw  her  out  of 
the  pit.     But  if  the  danger  be  too  pressing  to  buffer  him  to  do 

*  Epis.  340,  July  31,  1563. 


A. D.  1541-49.]  RULES    OF    DISCIPLINE.  471 

this,  the  claim  of  such  a  wife  upon  her  husband  ceases.  If  he 
have  children,  let  him  take  them  with  him,  as  his  greatest  treas- 
ure ;  as  a  pledge  entrusted  to  him  by  God."* 

In  the  epistle  which  he  addressed  to  the  brethren  at  Aix,  he 
decided,  in  a  truly  apostolic  manner,  the  difficult  question,  whether 
it  be  lawful  in  times  of  persecution  to  meet  force  with  force  : — "  1 
know  well,"  he  says,  "  that  a  false  pretence  is  not  wanting  to  da- 
fend  the  proceeding,  when  an  excited  people  oppose  oppressive 
power  by  violence  ;  since  this  is  not  altogether  the  same  as  resist- 
ance to  lawful  authority,  the  Very  laws  themselves  allowing  every 
one  to  take  arms  to  defend  himself  against  robbers.  But  the 
loftier  wisdom  of  the  Gospel  teaches  us  to  hold  fast  by  the  rules 
taught  us  by  our  heavenly  Master,  namely,  '  to  possess  our  souls 
in  palience.'t  And  certain  it  is,  that  our  only  secure  refuge 
against  the  heat,  the  stormy  wind,  and  every  other  danger,  is  un- 
der the  shadow  of  his  wings.  As  soon,  however,  as  we  begin  to 
resist  force  by  force,  we  put  away  his  hand  and  his  help  from  us. 
The  apostle  therefore  admonishes  us  to  leave  it  to  God  to  avenge 
us,  and  to  support  ourselves  on  his  promises,  according  to  which 
He  will  protect  his  people  against  the  rage  of  the  wicked.  The 
blood  of  the  saints  cries  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  is  the  seed  of 
the  church."  To  the  question,  whether  it  be  lawful  to  aid  a 
believer's  escape  from  prison,  by  the  use  of  keys  surreptitiously 
obtained,  by  money,  or  by  similar  means,  Calvin  replied. +  "  I 
should  never  advise  or  approve  of  such  a  proceeding,  but  I  should 
heartily  rejoice  at  the  deliverance  of  any  one,  and  should  make 
it  the  subject  of  my  prayers,  if  it  could  be  effected  without  of- 
fence to  the  good.  The  primitive  church  prayed  for  those  that 
were  bound, §  but  did  nothing  further.  Paul  did  not  wish  to  be 
ransomed." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  in  the  collection  of  decisions, 
adopted  by  the  synod  of  Verteuil,  is  the  following,  insisting  upon 
the  tenderness  to  be  exercised  towards  children.  "Parents," 
it  is  said,  "  may  not  oblige  their  children  to  marry  against  their 
inclination.  In  the  case  in  which  a  young  man,  or  a  young 
woman,  dislikes  the  person  proposed  to  him  or  her,  the  modesty 
and  reverence  which  children  owe  to  their  parents  must  be 
shown  if  they  refuse  the  offer,  but  they  are  not  to  be  punished 
for  rejecting  it."  On  the  other  hand,  he  says.H  "A  young 
man  who  marries  against  the  wishes  of  his  parents  should  know 

*  Ed.  Amst.  p.  216.  f  Luke  xxi.  19.  :(:  Epis.  375.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  215. 

§  Acts  xxiv.  26.  |  Epis.  299.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  226. 


472  FESTIVE    MEETINGS.  [CHAP.  VIII. 

that  lie  will  be  justly  punished  for  his  folly,  if  he  have  a  disobe- 
dient wife.  Let  him  not  be  surprised  that,  having  neglecied  the 
duty  which  he  owed  to  God  and  his  parents,  he  finds  himself 
properly  repaid  by  her  contradiction." 

Calvin  wished  marriages  to  be  celebrated  with  great  solemnity  : 
he  directed  the  bridal  party  to  proceed  to  church  without  the  beat- 
ing of  drums  or  music,  but  seriously,  as  became  Christians,  as 
soon  as  the  bells  ceased  ;  and  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed 
before  the  sermon,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  congregation.  If 
the  party  came  too  late  they  were  to  be  sent  back. 

To  the  question  whether,  if  any  one  married  his  mistress,  sh-e 
ought  then  to  be  treated  as  a  good  and  virtuous  woman,  Calvin 
answers,  "  Certain  it  is  that  the  discipline  of  the  church  teaches 
us  to  condemn  such  wild  marriages,  but  we  must  not  shut  the 
door  to  repentance  by  prohibiting  a  legitimate  union."  To  the 
inquiry  whether  any  kind  of  games  might  be  allowed,  he  re- 
plies,* M  With  respect  to  play,  a  certain  measure  must  be  ob- 
served. In  the  first  place,  not  a  word  is  to  be  said  about  playing 
for  money,  lest  the  love  of  gain  should  lure  the  weak  to  sin.  In 
the  second  place,  it  is  contrary  to  our  duty  to  lavish  our  time  in 
amusements  of  this  kind  ;  nor  must  the  disorderly  conduct 
spoken  of  by  St.  Pault  be  endured,  but  must  be  punished  with 
excommunication."! 

On  the  outward  moral  conduct  of  Christians  in  the  world,  he 
says,§  "  Nothing  can  be  better  or  more  prudent  than  to  avoid 
a  frequent  attendance  at  those  scenes  in  which  we  must  struggle 
with  the  world,  unless  we  mean  to  betray  the  honor  of  God  by 
an  infamous  cowardice.  If,  however,  a  person  be  present  at  a 
marriage,  he  ought  to  refrain  from  dancing  :  merely  being  present 
is  not  reprehensible  ;  but  we  must  take  care  not  to  offend  others 
by  our  moral  bearing.  Let  our  sedateness  act  with  the  force  of  a 
severe  censure,  bridling  the  licentiousness  of  the  rest." 

To  the  question,  whether  it  be  a  duty  to  chastise  the  foolish 
and  sinful  speeches  of  wicked  companies,  he  replies,  "  No  rule 
can  be  given  on  this  subject,  but  we  should  not  let  our  anger 
be  silent  when  a  proper  opportunity  occurs  for  speaking.  Pru- 
dence, however,  will  often  teach  us  to  refrain.  Still,  when  we 
are  without  tongues  among  such  men,  we  should  let  them  see, 
like  righteous  Lot,  how  much  pain  we  suffer  from  their  conduct. 
The  best  rule  we  can  follow  is,  to  employ  every  means  in  our 

*  Epis.  3C6.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  214.  f  2  Thess.  iii.  11-14. 

X  Epia.  258.  Ed.  Amst.  p.  126.  §  Epia.  258. 


A.D.  1541-49.]       THEATRICAL    ENTERTAINMENTS.  473 

power  to  oppose  sin,  to  edify  society,  to  prevent  the  blaspheming 
of  God's  name,  and  the  perversion  of  the  weak,  who  often  have  a 
right  will,  but  are  ruined  from  not  being  warned  in  time."* 

The  theatre,  in  a  pleasure-loving  city  like  Geneva,  was  an- 
other difficult  subject  for  consideration.  In  the  middle  ages 
the  theatrical  element  was,  it  is  well  known,  often  employed  for 
religious  purposes,  and  this  Calvin  does  not  seem  to  have  alto- 
gether reprobated  ;  for  in  the  state-register  of  January  6,  1558, 
it  is  said,  the  minister  Enoch  proposed,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Bernese  envoys,  and  in  commemoration  of  the  league  with 
Switzerland,  that  a  tragedy  should  be  performed,  representing 
the  martyrdom  of  the  five  young  Bernese  (?)t  students  at  Lyons  ; 
the  parts  to  be  undertaken  by  children.  When,  however,  some 
time  before  this,  a  company  of  players  wished  to  perform  in 
Geneva,  and  the  council  desired  Calvin's  opinion,  he  answered, 
with  the  rest  of  the  ministers,  "  that  they  considered,  on  many 
accounts,  such  amusements  unprofitable,  but  that  they  would 
offer  no  opposition,  if  the  council  saw  good  to  allow  the  per- 
formances." One  of  the  clergy  declaimed  in  the  pulpit  against 
the  players,  although  their  pieces  were  founded  on  "  The  Acts 
of  (he  Apostles."  The  people  were  greatly  exasperated,  and  Cal- 
vin was  obliged  to  tranquillize  them  by  a  sermon.  In  the  rules 
of  discipline,  dramatic  performances  were  only  allowed  as  a  scho- 
lastic exercise. 

The  duchess  of  Ferrara  once  asked  him  whether  she  was 
bound  by  an  oath  extorted  from  her.  He  answered, +  "  With 
regard  to  the  oath  to  which  you  were  forced,  you  are  not  bound 
to  keep  it,  inasmuch  as  they  who  tendered  it  acted  unrighteously, 
and  dishonored  God.  A  double  condemnation  fell  upon  Herod, 
because  he  remained  true  to  his."  When  some  one  expressed 
himself  as  distressed  in  his  conscience,  because  his  child  had 
died  unbaptized,  Calvin  wrote  to  him,  "  Baptism  is  indeed  the 
sign  of  salvation,  and  the  seal,  that  we  are  accepted  of  God. 
But  in  either  circumstance  we  are  inscribed  in  the  book  of  life, 
as  well  by  the  free-grace  of  God  as  by  his  promises.  Our  chil- 
dren accordingly  are  redeemed,  for  it  is  written,  'I  am  the  God 
of  thy  children  ;'  otherwise  they  could  not  be  baptized.  If 
your  own  salvation,  therefore,  be  secured  by  the  promise,  and  be 


*  Aymon,  1.  c.  s.  252. 

f  Five  French  students  are  known  to  have  suffered  in  1553,  and  five  others  were 
executed  at  Chambery  in  1555. 
\  MSS.  Gen.  July  5,  1560. 


474  calvin's  success.  [chap.  viii. 

well-grounded  in  itself,  we  cannot  suppose  the  children  who  die 
before  baptism  to  be  lost.  By  giving  too  much  honor  to  the 
outward  sign,  we  should  offend  God  ;  and  by  supposing  that  our 
salvation  is  not  sufficiently  secured  by  his  promise,  we  should 
throw  a  doubt  upon  his  truth.  There  being  no  disrespect  then 
to  the  sacrament  on  your  part,  no  harm  can  happen  to  your 
child,  because  it  died  before  it  was  possible  for  you  to  bring  it  to 
baptism." 

We  learn  from  the  state-register  of  March  13,  1559,  that 
romance-reading  was  altogether  prohibited  in  Geneva.  It  is 
said  :— "Inasmuch  as  many  persons- are  in  the  habit  of  reading 
Amadis  de  Gaule,  which  contains  much  that  is  licentious  and 
wicked,  let  them  be  gravely  admonished,  and  let  the  said  book  be 
abolished  and  destroyed."  Shortly  after  Calvin's  time,  Henry 
Stephens  was  excommunicated  and  imprisoned,  because  he  had 
written  a  dissolute  book.  In  conclusion,  we  refer  to  a  little  work 
entitled  '  The  Life  of  the  Christian,  and  a  View  of  Eternal  Life,' 
as  affording  a  further  proof  of  Calvin's  spiritual  feelings,  and  care 
for  souls. 

It  may  be  easily  understood  what  a  powerful  influence  such 
moral  force,  purity  and  holiness,  combined  with  so  much  wis- 
dom and  ability,  must  have  exercised  in  Fiance,  and  on  the. 
whole  church.  Calvin's  heroism  aroused  the  noblest  feelings  ia 
the  hearts  of  believers.  I  may  here  mention  the  minister  P. 
Bfully,  one  of  his  followers  in  Strasburg.  Brully,  though  hap- 
pily married,  could  not  be  restrained  from  going  to  preach  the 
pure  Gospel  at  Tournai,  where  he  suffered  martyrdom  with 
heroic  firmness.  The  letters  which  he  wrote  to  his  wife,  shortly 
before  his  death,  are  still  preserved.  Numberless  simple-minded 
Christians  thus  proclaimed  their  faith  in  Christ,  while  exposed 
to  the  most  furious  rage  of  their  enemies.  We  can  hence  under- 
stand how,  in  so  short  a  time,  2150  churches  arose,  all  of  which 
were  ready  to  seal  the  truth  with  their  blood  :  it  was  with  joy 
indeed  that  these  confessors  of  the  Gospel  found  themselves 
called  to  such  an  honor.  It  was  the  pure  apostolic  element  in 
Calvin's  character  which  shone  so  brightly  forth  :  he  had  no 
wish  to  forward  a  political  party,  but  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  a 
spiritual  theocracy.  Towards  this  end  it  was  that  he  strove  with 
such  untiring  energy,  continually  illustrating  the  words  which 
he  addressed  to  Farel  at  the  commencement  of  his  course,  "  In 
specula  nostra  adfinem  usque  perstemns."  He  could  safelv  say, 
"  I  can  nunrber  myriads  of  children  in  every  part  of  the  Christian 


A.D.  1542-49.]     CALVIN  AND  THE  SORBONNE.  475 

world  ;"  and  all,  all  of  these  whom  he  so  greatly  helped  will  stand 
forth  with  flaming  swords  to  defend  him  against  the  slanderers 
and  gainsayers,  who  would  so  fain,  even  to  the  present  day,  dis- 
pute the  purity  of  his  faith.  That  which  appears  to  us  so  rough 
in  his  manner,  and  in  his  system,  was,  in  its  original  form  in  his 
spirit, — as  for  example,  the  exhibition  of  God's  righteousness  in 
election,  and  the  order  of  the  church, — a  manifest  sign  of  his 
sending,  and  a  blessing  for  the  sick  and  slumbering  world.  And 
hence  it  was  that  all  healthy  minds  thirsted  after  it,  and  rejoiced 
in  the  strength  which  it  imparted. 

Before  we  proceed  to  show  how  Calvin  assailed  the  anti- 
christian  party  in  Geneva,  in  order  to  establish  his  system  there, 
and  to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  the  Zurichers,  we  must  turn 
our  attention  to  his  general  exertions  at  this  period,  which  will 
place  him  before  us  in  his  relation  to  the  church  at  large.  Al- 
though the  ecclesiastical  arrangements,  of  which  we  have  hitherto 
spoken,  formed  the  main  object  of  his  labors,  in  the  portion  of  his 
life  thus  far  described,  we  now  begin  to  discover,  in  some  meas- 
ure, his  outward  struggles,  which  however  did  not  reach  their 
highest  point  till  the  period  to  be  spoken  of  in  the  third  division 
of  this  work. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

calvin's  general  activity. — he  attacks  the  catholics. 
— pope  paul  iii.  —  writes  against  pighius  on  free 
grace. melancthon. the  council  of  trent. 

We  see  all  the  opposing  elements  of  the  sixteenth  century  rush- 
ing into  conflict,  at  the  epoch  when  the  new  element  of  Calvin- 
ism began  to  exercise  its  mighty  and  restraining  influence  on 
the  world.  It  was  a  time  of  crisis  in  the  life  of  the  church. 
On  the  one  side  was  the  catholic,  on  the  other  the  protestant, 
element;  here  and  there  the  antichristian,  and  the  fury  of  per- 
secution. Against  all  this  Calvin  had  to  strive  to  accomplish 
the  reformation.  His  first  step  was  against  the  catholic  church, 
and  the  Sorbonne,  which  represented  its  arrogant  ignorance, 
and    sought  to   uphold    the   old   errors   against  the  new  spirit. 


476  CALVIN    AND    THE    SORBONNE.  [CHAP.  IX. 

Albert   Pighius   is   the  representative  of  the   catholic   theology. 
Pope    Paul   III.,   who    retained    nothing   of  the    old.   venerable, 
catholic  and  historical  principle — the  theocratic  development  of 
Christianity — but  the  sin  with  which  it  has  been  combined,  rep- 
resented the  old  declining  institution.     We  shall  soon  see  Cal- 
viifs  attack  on  the  French  and  English,  and  even  on  the  Ger- 
mans.    Luther  dies,  and  the  storm  which  he  had  foreseen  imme- 
diately breaks  out.     At  this  great  crisis,  the  faith  of  the  church 
is  proved  by  the  Interim.     Catholicism  endeavors  to  strengthen 
itself  in  the  council  of  Trent,  by  an  inward  unity  of  doctrine, 
while  protestantism  is  torn  by  dissensions.      Calvin   now   feels 
more  deeply  than  ever  the  necessity  of  a  firm  foundation  for  the 
evangelical  church,  and  shoots  his  darts  on  all  sides.     A  series 
of  works  followed   fast  upon  each  other,  directed  to  the  princes 
assembled  at  Spire,  against  the  Tridentine  decrees,  against  the 
Interim,  and,  requiring  only  a  common  explanation,  against  relics 
and  astrology.     He  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  Poles. 
A  great  number  of  exegetical  works  also  appeared  at  this  time, 
and  opened  the  way  for  a  right  system  of  interpretation,  while 
they  opposed  that  lawless  style  of  exegesis  which  found  its  rep- 
resentative  in    the  celebrated  Castellio,  who,  setting  at  naught 
the  well-established  dogmatic  rule  of  the  symbolical  books,  went 
ignorantly  before  his  time,  and  disregarded   the  sacred  unity  of 
the  faith,  but  whom  we  must  never  number  among  the  libertine 
enemies  of  our  reformer.     Calvin  was  in  fact  like  a  lion,  turn- 
ing on  all  sides  to  defend  his  young.     We  see  in  his  spirit,  re- 
markably enough,  the  transition  from  the  middle   ages  to  the 
new  period  of  development, — the  sturdy  roughness  of  the  early 
times,  and  the  finer  cultivation  of  the  later, — the  old  ideas  once 
so  passionately  embraced,  and  the  Christian   element,  inspiring 
a  forefeeling  of  the  future  establishment  of  all  things  according 
to  Christian-theocratic  ideas,  and  a  unity  arising  from  the  system 
of  synodal  rule.      We   everywhere,  in  short,  see  the  man   who 
felt,  in  the  most  definite  manner,  the  command  of  God  to  restore 
union  to  the  distracted  church,  and   to  proclaim   the  divine  judg- 
ments to  an  impious  age,  which  gave  to  man  the  honor  which  be- 
longs to  God  alone. 

The  high-school  at  Paris  had  the  hardihood,  in  1542,  to  pub- 
lish twenty-five  new  articles,  as  an  addition  to  the  Christian 
creed.  This  would  never  have  been  suffered  by  the  people,  but 
the  articles,  either  through  fear  or  ignorance,  were  subscribed  by 
the  king,  and   made  the  subject  of  an  edict.     Calvin  felt  it  his 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    THE    SORBONNE.  477 

duty  to  oppose  these  articles  by  the  strongest  arguments,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  exhibit,  with  easy  humor,  the  ignorance  of  the 
Sorbonnists.  He  begins  by  proving  each  article  in  an  ironical 
manner,  and  according  to  catholic  reasoning,  afterwards  con- 
futing it  by  earnest  and  erudite  arguments.  Pascal,  who  with 
similar  irony  so  victoriously  employed  the  acts  of  the  Jesuits  to 
overthrow  their  doctrines,  had  he  read  this  work,  would  have 
found  it  containing  a  rich  fund  of  observation,  and  well  calcu- 
lated to  direct  attention  to  the  perversions  of  Romanism.  It 
undoubtedly  deserved  especial  notice,  both  in  France  and  Italy, 
for  its  popular  style,  and  its  consequent  fitness  to  prevent  the  suc- 
cess of  the  experiment  to  re-establish  the  Romanism  of  former 
times.  We  might  republish  it  under  the  title  of  'New  Argu- 
ments for  the  Truth  of  the  Romish  Faith.' 

The  following  are  a  specimen  of  these  new  and  humorous 
arguments. 

In  the  seventh  article,  which  treats  of  the  communion  under 
one  form,  the  Sorbonnists  say, — ''The  sacrament  under  both 
forms  is  not  necessary  to  the  laity.  Many  good  reasons  justified 
the  early  church  in  administering  it  to  the  people  under  only 
one  form."  Calvin  says: — "This  may  be  thus  proved.  There 
is  danger  that  the  blood  might  be  spilt.  Now  if  the  Lutherans 
ask  whether  the  church  be  wiser  than  Christ,  who  did  not  seem 
to  consider  this,  I  answer,  that  Christ  did  consider  it,  but  was 
silent  on  the  subject,  because  he  wished  to  try  the  wisdom 
of  his  church.  There  is  still  however  a  little  difficulty  remain- 
ing. The  body  of  the  Lord  must  be  enclosed  in  the  sacred 
chest,  that  it  may  be  carried  to  the  sick  :  but  if  the  blood  were 
thus  kept,  it  would  become  vinegar,  and  would  be  no  longer 
blood.  The  Lutherans  would  laugh  now  and  say,  '  You  see 
well  enough  that  this  is  mere  wine,'  which  would  be  contrary  to 
the  doctrine  of  transubstanliation.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  but 
proper  that  the  clergy  should  have  a  privilege,  which  may  tend 
to  keep  down  the  boasting  of  the  laity.  There  would  also 
be  a  further  cause  for  apprehension,  were  the  people  allowed 
to  drink  the  blood;  for  the  taste  of  it  might  excite  Ihe  suspicion 
in  this  or  that  man  that  it  was  pure  wine  ;  and  what  an  evil, 
what  a  scandal  this  would  be  !  But  if  any  one  should  argue, 
that  the  church  has  not  the  right  so  to  act.  against  the  words, 
or  so  to  oppose  a  commandment,  of  Christ,  I  answer,  that 
the  commandment,  'Drink  ye  all  of  this,'  is  only  to  be  taken 
in    the  sense   of    an    admonition;    and    hence    it  is    a    counsel, 


478  CALVIN    AND    THE    SORBONNE.  [CHAP.  IX. 

and  not  a  command.  I  dare  scarcely  venture,  and  yet  it  is  a 
matter  of  great  importance,  to  suggest,  that  there  are  wine-haters 
who  would  not  for  all  the  world  drink  wine,  and  who  still  could 
not  be  deprived  of  the  cup.  I  presume  however  to  say  this,  since 
the  Lutherans  laugh  in  the  sleeve,  and  think,  if  our  view  be  cor- 
rect, there  is  no  more  wine,  but  blood." 

In  the  twenty-third  article,  the  Sorbonnists  say,  "We  must 
firmly  believe  that  there  is  a  high-priest  in  the  militant  church, 
established  by  divine  right,  whom  all  Christians  must  obey,  and 
who  has  authority  to  impart  absolution." 

"  I  prove  this  position,"  says  Calvin,  "by  the  word  addressed 
to  Peter,  'Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock,  &c.'  If  now  a 
Lutheran  should  say,  that  Peter  was  here  named  as  one  of  the 
faithful;  that  the  rock  was  the  foundation-stone  of  the  church  of 
Christ ;  that  Peter  was  a  bad  foundation-stone  because  he  denied 
Christ,  and  that,  according  to  Paul,  no  one  might  lay  any  other 
foundation  but  Christ, — this  position  must  in  no  wise  be  allowed. 
Then,  since  a  different  exposition  is  favorable  to  Rome,  you  will 
know  the  rule  from  its  proper  application,  that  that  which  is 
favorable  should  be  extended,  Quod  favor es  ampliari.  The 
Lutherans  however,  once  for  all,  know  that  Christ  gave  the 
Roman  primacy  to  Peter  :  but  it  does  not  follow  therefrom  that 
he  gave  it  to  all  his  successors.  They  must  therefore  pretend 
that  all  should  be  regarded  as  children  of  Satan  ;  for  Christ 
says  to  Peter  himself,  '  Thou  art  a  Satan  :  get  thee  behind 
me.'  They  think,  that  is,  that  if  the  popes  succeed  him  in  the 
one  title,  they  must  also  follow  him  in  the  other.  But  here  it 
should  be  answered,  according  to  the  rule  of  the  jurists,  that 
'that  which  is  odious  ought  to  be  restricted  ;'  odia  sunt  restrin- 
genda.  The  difficulty  however  may  be  removed  in  another 
manner.  You  can  say, — Christ  in  the  first  instance  spoke  to 
Peter  as  to  the  future  pope,  but  in  the  second  as  to  a  private 
person.  They  argue  still  further :  Why  has  Peter  given  the 
eternal  succession,  the  primacy,  to  the  city  of  Rome,  and  not  to 
Antioch?  for  he  had  been  bishop  in  both  places.  The  answer 
to  this  is,  a  place  obtains  its  renown  through  the  death  of  a  great 
man.  especially  when  the  blood  of  a  martyr  has  been  shed  there, 
for  this  avails  much  with  God,  as  we  say  in  a  hymn  sung  on  St. 
Peter's  day.  They  meet  this  by  the  argument,  that,  according 
to  such  reasoning,  James  and  John  must  have  held  the  second 
and  third  rank  in  their  churches,  as  Peter  held  the  first 
at   Rome ;  it   being:   St.    Paul's    remark,   that    these  three  were 


A.D.  1542-49.]         CALVIN    AND    THE    SORBONNE.  479 

as  pillars  of  the  primitive  church.  Here  it  may  be  answered, 
that  if  the  others  have  not  been  sufficiently  zealous  in  this  re- 
spect, or  have  not  defended  their  rights  with  proper  courage, 
Rome  ought  not  to  suffer  from  their  negligence  ;  that  Jerusalem 
and  Ephesus  deserve  to  be  humbled  for  their  foolish  cowardice, 
whilst  Rome,  which  has  always  struggled  for  its  honor  with 
determined  energy,  is  properly  acknowledged  as  the  first  of 
cities."  * 

The  weapons  furnished  by  wit  and  irony  were  those  most 
likely,  at  that  time,  to  prevail  in  France,  and,  when  united  with 
earnestness,  were  of  real  use.  But  the  Institute  of  the  Sorbotme 
still  continued  a  powerful  and  dangerous  enemy  to  the  Gospel : 
it  was  an  arm  of  the  court  of  Rome,  supported  by  its  mightiest 
influence,  ever  exercising  a  blind  rage  against  truth,  and  distin- 
guished only  by  a  rude  fanaticism.  Established  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  VII.  by  Robert  Sorbon,  as  a  humble  seminary,  it  wa* 
known  till  the  time  of  Louis  IX.  by  the  name  of  "The  Poor  Sor- 
bonne  ;;'  but  it  so  rapidly  increased  in  power  and  influence,  that 
the  decrees  of  this  high-school  soon  affected  the  very  life  of 
both  church  and  state.  In  the  dark  ages  it  disgraced  itself  by 
the  sentence  which  it  pronounced  upon  the  heroic  Joan  of  Arc, 
and  others,  and  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation  it  was  no  less 
infamously  celebrated  by  its  irreconcilable  hatred  to  the  light,  of 
whose  spirit  it  was  the  offspring.  Thus  it  persecuted  every  friend 
of  true  learning  and  intelligence  ;  among  others,  that  lucid 
thinker  Ramus,  the  enemy  of  scholasticism.  It  unceasingly 
endeavored  to  exasperate  the  people  against  the  Lutherans,  as 
the  reformers  were  called  in  France  till  the  Colloquy  at  Poissi ; 
and  the  religious  war  must  consequently  be  attributed,  in  part,  to 
its  agency. 

It  is  instructive,  however,  for  all  ages  to  observe,  with  what 
force  the  spirit  of  evil  strove  against  the  light  in  that  period  of 
confusion,  and  what  sacrifices,  what  efforts  were  required  to 
bring  about,  step  by  step,  the  new  order  of  things.  Nor  will 
the  church,  in  the  present  day,  obtain  by  any  other  means  the 
victory   over    unbelief,  or  accomplish,  by  the  conversion  of  the 

*  Calvin  lias  a  further  observation  on  this  subject,  and  remarks  that  if  the  argu- 
ment for  Home  were  valid,  it  might  be  contended  that  the  Arabian  wilderness 
ought  to  have  been  regarded  as  the  capital  of  the  ancient  people  of  God,  since  it  was 
there  that  Moses,  the  first  of  the  prophets,  preached  and  died,  and  that  Aaron  exer- 
cised his  office.  Jerusalem  again  was  the  place  in  which  our  Lord  performed  his 
work  as  the  chief  bishop,  and  also  died.  Answers  and  rejoinders  are  given  like 
those  above-cited. 


480  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  [CHAP.  IX. 

heathen,  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  over  all  the  world.  We 
have  an  instance  of  this  tumultuous  conflict  of  opposing  powers 
in  the  following  strife. 

Alexander  Farnese,  a  Roman,  succeeded  Clemens  VII.  in  1534, 
on  the  papal  throne.  He  was  a  worthy  follower  of  Alexander 
VI.,  and  a  fitting  predecessor  of  Paul  IV.  For  the  upholding  of 
his  selfish  rule,  he  introduced  into  his  dishonest  policy  the  lofty 
principle  of  the  earlier  popes,  Gregory  VII.  and  Innocent  III., 
who,  contending  in  the  name  of  God,  secured  a  great  degree  of 
unity  in  spiritual  tilings  against  the  invasions  of  the  temporal 
power,  and  subdued  the  wild,  rude  spirit  of  the  middle  ages. 
Although  it  was  Paul's  constant  effort,  in  his  struggles  with 
Charles  of  Spain,  to  protect  the  authority  of  the  Roman  see,  he 
had  too  little  knowledge  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived  :  he  hated 
the  idea  of  reformation,  and  washed  to  support  the  papal  throne 
without  the  aid  of  Christianity.  The  Inquisition  was  re-estab- 
lished at  his  desire,  and  the  order  of  the  Jesuits  owed  its  firmest 
support  to  his  favor.  It  was  at  his  instance  that  the  council, 
which  subsequently  assembled  at  Trent,  first  met  at  Mantua. 
He  rejected  the  Interim,  and  by  his  refusal  to  be  reconciled  to 
Henry  VIII.  England  was  lost  to  the  catholic  church.  His 
private  life  was  a  scandal  to  the  church  :  he  had  a  daughter  and 
a  son,  Peter  Louis  Farnese,  duke  of  Parma  and  Piacenza.  whom 
the  people  so  detested  that  they  arose  tumultuously  and  murder- 
ed him.  His  grandson,  Octavio  Farnese,  was  as  profligate  as 
himself.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1549  that  Paul  HI.  was  sum- 
moned to  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship  as  head  of  the 
Christian  church  :  he  remained  true  to  his  character  to  the  last. 
Hence  the  gross  hypocrisy  of  the  pious  expressions  by  which  he 
sought  to  render  his  death  respectable. 

The  emperor  of  Germany,  involved  in  a  war  with  France,  en- 
deavored to  tranquillize  the  country  at  the  diet  of  Spire,  and 
promised,  in  a  decree,  that  whatever  concerned  the  alFairs  of 
religion  should  remain  for  the  present  on  the  same  footing.  He 
added  however  that  he  would  take  care  to  assemble  a  general, 
or  at  least  a  national,  synod,  to  put  ah  end  to  the  existing  disor- 
ders. No  sooner  was  the  pope  made  acquainted  with  the  empe- 
ror's sentiments  on  this  point,  than  he  exhibited  the  strongest 
indignation.  Charles  had  proposed  the  step  without  con- 
sulting the  pontiff,  and  had  placed  catholics  and  heretics  in  the 
same  rank:  he  therefore  addressed  an  admonition,  not  unmix- 
ed   with    threats,   to    the   emperor.      The   latter    are    well-worth 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  481 

notice  for  their  hypocritical,  paternal  tone,  it  being  easy  to  see  in 
what  relation  the  pope  stood  to  the  emperor,  and  by  what  kind  of 
Scriptural  reasoning'  he  hoped  to  attain  his  end.  "  The  exam- 
ple," he  said,  "of  Eli  admonished  him  to  warn  the  emperor,  his 
dear  son,  and  the  eldest  son  of  the  church,  lest  by  neglecting  to 
do  so.  he  might  bring  upon  himself  the  divine  displeasure.  But 
he  would  warn  him,  not  as  an  undutiful,  but  as  a  good  son.  It 
would  be  charged  upon  him  as  the  result  of  his  want  of  paternal 
care,  if  the  emperor  failed  in  anything  which  regarded  the  pope. 
Uzziah  died  because  he  merely  touched  the  ark  of  the  covenant, 
and  endeavored  to  hold  it  up  when  the  oxen  stumbled,  that  bein^ 
the  duty  of  the  Levites.  You  may  expect  the  same  fate  if  you 
listen  to  those  who  have  always  the  word  '  reformation'  in  their 
mouths,  or  if  you  encourage  the  proposed  assembly  of  the 
church.  Thus  it  also  happened  to  Dathan,  Abirain  and  Corah, 
who  opposed  the  sole  priesthood  of  Aaron.  Uzziah's  act  arose 
from  pride.  But  you,  beloved  son,  are  seeking  to  intrude  even 
into  the  holy  place.  Constantine,  Theodosius,  and  Charles  the 
Great  were  blessed  and  victorious  because  they  subjected  them- 
selves to  the  priests  and  the  popes.  The  undutiful  have  ever 
been  exposed  to  punishment.  Anastasius,  for  example,  who  op- 
posed pope  Gelasius,  was  struck  dead  by  lightning, — a  monument 
of  God's  wrath." 

This  passage  is  followed  by  a  list  of  all  the  undutiful  kings 
and  emperors  whom  God,  or  the  popes,  had  humbled  up  to  the 
time  of  Henry  and  Frederic  II.  But  delusion  of  mind  is  one  of 
the  greatest  chastisements  which  such  people  can  suffer,  and  the 
most  criminal  are  those  who  wound  the  unity  of  the  church  by 
assailing  the  pope.  Even  whole  nations  have  been  thus  punish- 
ed for  opposing  the  papal  chair,  as  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks. 
"But  God  forbid  that  you,  the  successor  of  Christian  emperors, 
should  ever  be  found  guilty  of  such  a  sin.  We  have  warned  you 
as  a  father  anxious  for  the  salvation  and  the  honor  of  his  beloved 
son.  Follow  the  example  of  Constantine,  who,  although  he  was 
asked  even  by  priests  to  determine  a  controversy,  answered,  'God 
has  appointed  you  priests  and  judges  over  us  :  you  cannot  be 
judged  by  men,  but  by  God  only.'  We  wish  to  see  you  become 
like  this  great  emperor." 

Calvin's  original  answer  at  once  overthrew  and  exposed  this 
hypocrisy.  His  language  is  not  less  severe  than  that  of  Luther 
in  his  polemical  writings.  "If  this  inslance  of  God's  anger 
against  Eli  so  greatly  terrifies  the  holy  father,   we  cannot  but. 

vol.  i. — 31 


482  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  [CHAP.  IX. 

wonder,  that,  afflicted  as  he  is  at  the  supposed  sin  of  the  em- 
peror, he  allows  himself  to  sleep  over  the  offences  of  his  own 
children.  God  punished  the  drowsiness  of  Eli,  neglecting  as  he 
did  to  punish  his  children.  But  the  apostle  Paul  directs  that  the 
children  of  a  Christian  bishop  should  be  of  good  conversation, 
and  fearing  the  Lord.  Now,  our  pope  Paul  Farnese  has  a  son, 
and  this  son  has  children;  and  moreover  he  has  bastards  ;  and 
this  old  man,  who  stands  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  this  half- 
corrupted  carcass,  looks  still  for  children.  Who  is  Peter  Louis  ? 
I  could  relate  the  most  horrible  things  of  him,  and  should  only 
speak  the  truth.  Italy  has  never  before  produced  such  a  mon- 
ster. Why  then  do  you  slumber,  pope,  while  the  debaucheries 
of  your  son  ascend  to  heaven  ;  while  the  whole  earth  is  filled 
with  their  stench,  and  all  the  world  cries  aloud  against  them  ? 
Would  not  this  be  the  time  for  you  to  exercise  your  severity  ? 
What  shall  I  say  of  his  avarice;  of  his  frauds;  of  his  cruelty? 
All  are  astounded  at  his  wickedness.  His  father  alone  be- 
holds it  with  indifference.  If  Eli  then  was  punished  for 
his  laxity,  shall  pope  Paul  remain  unpunished,  when  he  closes 
both  his  eyes  and  his  mouth,  and  fosters  such  iniquity,  calling  it 
good?  Thou  shameful  pope,  hast  thou  no  fear  of  the  judgments 
of  God  ? 

"But  we  have  spoken  enough  of  your  natural  children.  You 
boast  yourself  the  father  of  all  Christians,  and  yet  continue  silent 
amidst  the  distractions  of  the  world,  which  you  are  suffering  to 
perish.  If  God  then  did  not  spare  Eli,  what  punishment  ought 
you  not  to  expect  ?  But  I  will  press  the  matter  still  more  strong- 
ly upon  you.  How  is  it  with  your  own  particular  diocese,  which 
ought  to  be  sacred  to  you,  and  like  a  family  ?  What  are  your 
vicars  about?  What  is  the  work  carried  on?  How  do  your 
clergy  behave  themselves?  Could  we  find  a  Sodom  where 
greater  wickedness  prevailed,  where  sin  was  less  punished,  or 
where  iniquity  more  shamefully  exalted  itself?  And  can  you 
believe  then  that  the  wrath  of  God  will  pursue  you  for  this  one 
fault,  that  is,  for  suffering  the  protestants  to  enjoy  peace  and  jus- 
tice till  the  religious  differences  are  settled  ?" 

Calvin  next  shows,  from  church  history,  that  the  right  of  as- 
sembling councils  belonged,  in  the  primitive  times,  to  the  emperor, 
and  not  to  the  pope,  and  then  continues  in  a  style  of  irony 
to  say :  "  What  a  marvellous  change !  The  pope  is  become 
so  pious,  that  if  he  only  hears  that  the  protestants  are  to  be 
left  in  peace  for  awhile,  he  is  seized  witn  an  ague?     But  it  is 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  483 

as  wonderful  to  see,  on  the  other  side,  with  what  perfect  security 
he  confers  with  harlots,  and  how  he  shrinks  not  from  the  contam- 
ination of  a  profitable  treaty  with  the  Jews,  permitting  them, 
for  the  payment  of  a  yearly  tribute,  to  abuse  the  Gospel  without 
fear  of  punishment,  and  to  plunder  openly  under  the  name  of 
usury :  yea,  not  opposing  even  the  Turks  !  Still  the  holiness 
of  the  pope  shines  manifestly  forth  in  all  this,  for  he  fears,  with 
the  apostle  Paul,  that  'evil  communications  may  corrupt  good 
manners  !'  O  thou  godless  apostate  !  What  hast  thou  agreeing 
with  these  words?  Thou  art  the  chief  and  leader  of  all  that  is 
atheistic  ;  thou  spendest  thy  days  in  framing  treasons,  wars  and 
frauds  of  every  kind  ;  in  spoiling  and  ruining  the  innocent,  or 
in  marring  religion  by  the  vilest  plots ;  and  what  time  then  re- 
mains to  thee,  thou  devotest  pleasantly  to  the  society  of  thine 
epicurean  friends,  or  wallowest  like  a  swine  in  the  midst  of 
thine  harlots.  All  thy  words  and  deeds  savor  of  a  horrible  un- 
belief." 

In  the  following  section  Calvin  refutes  the  historical  facts  ad- 
duced by  the  pope,  and  which  were  intended  to  show  that  all 
who  did  not  remain  at  peace  with  Rome  were  unfortunate. 
"  The  pope,"  he  says,  "  wishes  to  prove  that  there  is  but  one 
sin  deserving  of  God's  anger,  and  which  may  be  considered  as 
the  source  of  all  evil ;  and  this  one  sin  is,  not  to  do  what 
the  pope  orders,  or  not  to  adore  his  holiness  instead  of  the 
holiness  of  God.  Certain  it  is  that  Christ  is  not  a  little  angry 
when  any  one  despises  his  vicar.  But  wilt  thou,  thou  foul- 
mouth,  thus  continue  to  make  a  mockery  of  the  Son  of  God? 
Who  gave  thee  this  place  of  honor  ?  According  to  the  testi- 
mony of  the  apostle,  no  one  ought  to  take  such  an  office  except 
he  be  called.  With  what  face  canst  thou  claim  such  a  proud 
title?  Even  should  an  angel  usurp  it,  he  ought  to  be  anathe- 
matized. Gregory,  thy  predecessor,  as  thou  pretendest,  called 
those  who  wished  to  name  him  a  bishop  above  all  other  bishops, 
whether  at  Rome  or  elsewhere,  wicked,  godless  people  ;  scan- 
dalizers  of  the  church,  servants  of  the  devil,  and  forerunners  of 
antichrist.  Choose  now  which  thou  wilt ;  thou  must  either 
condemn  Gregory  as  a  blasphemer  against  the  papal  chair,  or 
pronounce  this  sentence  upon  thyself.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  pardon  this  blasphemy,  and  regard  as  erroneous  the  opinion 
of  Cyprian,  that  there  is  no  other  bishopric  in  the  world  but 
the  bishopric  of  Christ,  which  pertains  to  all ;  if  we  also  allow 
that  one  man  alone  may  engross  this  dignity,  even  then,  where 


484  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  [CHAP.  IX 

can  be  by  thy  claim  to  it,  thou  wretched  robber?  Under  what 
pretence  canst  thou  arrogate  this  honor  to  thyself?  Thou  pre- 
tendest  to  be  the  successor  of  Peter,  to  whom  thou  art  no  more 
like  than  was  Nero,  Domitian,  or  Caligula,  unless,  perhaps,  thou 
wouldst  take  Heliogabalus  for  thy  model,  seeing  that  he  united 
a  new  kind  of  priesthood  with  the  imperial  dignity.  Certain  it 
is,  that  all  those  princes  were,  so  far  as  the  name  is  concerned, 
high-priests.  This  was  founded  in  the  superstitious  belief  of 
the  age  ;  and  thou  now,  in  these  times,  and  among  a  Christian 
people,  darest  to  assume  the  same  title,  against  all  right,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  unchangeable  will  of  Christ,  and  the  doctrines 
of  the  holy  fathers.  Canst  thou  be  a  representative  of  Christ, 
thou  whose  ideas  and  designs  are  ever  tending  to  set  Christ  at 
naught  ? — thou,  to  whom  only  the  empty  name  belongs,  and 
which  thou  misusest  as  a  cloak  for  thy  debauchery?  Canst  thou 
be  the  representative  of  Christ, — thou  in  whom  every  child  can 
recognize  antichrist  ?  What  kind  of  a  Christ  dost  thou  set  be- 
fore us,  if  thou  wouldst  have  us  behold  his  image  in  thy  tyranny  ? 
We  see  that  thou  art  the  priest  of  all  ungodliness  ;  the  standard- 
bearer  of  Satan ;  the  savage  tyrant  of  souls  ;  an  inhuman  exe- 
cutioner ;  and  to  judge  by  thy  life,  thou  art  a  monster,  framed  as 
it  were  of  all  kinds  of  wickednesses;  the  destroyer,  in  fact,  whom 
Paul  describes  to  us.  And  yet  in  thee  we  are  to  look  for  the  vicar 
of  Christ !  No :  rather  let  us  regard  thee  as  a  wolf,  engaged  in 
worrying  the  sheep  of  Christ ;  a  robber  who  setters  the  flocks  ;  a 
wretch  who  devours  them  !" 

And  further: — "He  calls  himself  father!  This  he  does  as 
the  poets  describe  Saturn,  who  devoured  his  children.  More- 
over, he  strikes  out  of  the  number  of  God's  children  all  those 
who  will  not  obey  his  mandates.  But  it  matters  not,  The 
lightnings  with  which  he  threatens  us  are  not  God's,  but  the 
demon's  ;  and  the  protestants  are  prepared  to  prove,  by  the 
clearest  evidence,  that  he  is  antichrist.  If  they  cannot  do  this, 
they  are  not  only  willing  to  be  accounted  liars,  but  to  acknowl- 
edge themselves  worthy  of  every  species  of  punishment.  All 
they  desire  is,  to  be  allowed  a  fair  hearing  before  a  proper  tri- 
bunal;  to  have  the  matter  determined  according  to  the  word  of 
God  ;  and  that  due  reverence  should  be  shown  for  the  statements 
of  the  ancient  fathers.  But  what  does  the  holy  father  say  to 
this  request  ?  He  will  suffer  it  under  certain  conditions  ;  just 
as  if  a  malefactor,  charged  with  robbery  and  murder,  should 
oiler  to  be  judged  on  condition,  that  a  tribunal  should  be  raised 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    PAUL    IV.  485 

upon  which  he  himself  might  sit  to  conduct  his  own  trial ; 
that  nothing  should  be  advanced  contrary  to  his  will,  that  no 
evidence  should  be  brought  against  him,  and  that,  in  short, 
everything  should  be  so  ordered  as  to  render  his  acquittal  cer- 
tain. 

"How  then  could  the  reformation  be  accomplished,  when  the 
final  appeal  must  always  be  to  the  court  of  Rome,  which  would 
confound  heaven  and  earth  together  ?  Were  it  not  also  a  sort 
of  horrible  thing  to  cut  and  carve  for  him  who  is  a  god  upon 
earth?  To  prescribe  to  him  rules  of  living?  To  limit  his  feast- 
ings,  and  demand  a  yearly  account  of  his  expenses?  And  not 
only  this,  but  to  cut  off  from  his  own  life  that  which  he  has  taken 
from  others  by  treachery  and  an  unrighteous  use  of  power;  and 
to  deprive  him  of  that  which  he  has  usurped  from  the  empire  and 
still  retains,  so  that  wherever  he  looks  he  can  only  behold  what  he 
has  stolen  ? 

"  Let  him  ask  himself  whether  the  pope  has  a  right  to  condemn 
the  protestants  ?  He  will  answer,  that  the  question  is  not  one  of 
law,  but  of  custom.  This  may  do  very  well  at  Rom6,  but  it  will 
not  do  in  Germany,  where  truth  is  held  and  right  is  respected. 
There,  it  is  a  new  thing  to  have  nothing  secure  but  what  may  be 
useful  to  this  or  that  individual.  And  if  it  be  contrary  to  received 
principles  in  Germany,  not  to  fulfil  that  which  has  been  promised, 
or  capriciously  to  recall  a  promise,  how  badly  must  such  things 
agree  with  the  character  of  the  emperor ! 

"  Suppose  then  that  this  were  the  determination,  that  all  which 
the  emperor  has  promised  to  the  protestants  is  null  and  void. 
But  while  now  there  is  nothing  holier  among  men  than  a  word 
solemnly  pledged,  the  principle  has  long  been  established  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  keep  faith  and  truth  with  heretics.  What 
then  becomes  of  the  oath  ?  Why,  the  papists  consider  that  they 
have  a  right  to  absolve  from  perjury  as  often  as  it  is  convenient 
to  commit  it.  But  it  is  still  the  eternal  law  of  the  empire  to 
keep  truth.  How?  Is  not  the  pope  above  the  law?  What  has 
he  to  do  with  laws?  It  is  not  consistent  with  the  majesty  of 
the  emperor  to  reverse  a  decree  which  he  has  himself  passed.  But 
all  infamy  is  covered  by  the  holiness  of  the  pope.  Let  this  suffice. 
But  have  we  not  briefs  and  seals  also  ?  As  if  the  absolution  given 
by  the  pope  were  not  enough  to  cancel  all  proofs,  according  to 
ancient  precedent." 

After  an   allusion  to   the  history  of  Huss   and  the   emperor 


486  ADDRESS    TO    THE    EMPEROR.  [CHAP.  IX, 

Sigismund,  Calvin  continues,  "But  the  emperor  Charles  is  a 
man  who  will  not  be  led  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  his  calling  and 
his  honor  to  the  pope.  It  is  well  known  how  often  this  Satan 
has  persuaded  him  to  be  fierce  and  cruel.  But  it  is  equally  well 
known  that  he  has  always  firmly  kept  his  word.  It  is  one  of  his 
noblest  and  most  heroic  virtues,  and  one  to  be  admired  before  all 
others,  that  in  these  troublous  times  nothing  has  ever  been  able 
to  induce  him  to  violate  his  promise,  or  to  sacrifice  his  goodness 
and  moderation." 

Connected  with  this  writing  against  the  pope  is  the  excellent 
address  which  he  sent,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  emperor  himself 
at  Speier,*  and  of  which  Beza  speaks  in  this  forcible  manner :  "  I 
doubt  whether  any  weightier  or  more  nervous  composition  of  this 
kind  has  been  produced  in  our  age."  It  appeared  under  the  fol- 
lowing title,  "  A  Supplicatory  Remonstrance  in  reference  to  a  Gen- 
eral Council,  addressed  to  the  emperor,  the  princes,  and  the  other 
orders  assembled  at  Speier,  in  the  name  of  all  those  who  love  the 
kingdom  of  Christ." 

Who  will*  fail  here  to  recollect  Luther's  address  "To  the 
emperor's  majesty,  and  the  Christian  nobles  of  the  German 
nation,  on  the  reformation  of  religion,"  in  which  he  attacks  the 
triple  defence  of  the  papacy?  "The  Romanists,"  he  says,  "have 
dexterously  surrounded  themselves  with  three  walls,  so  as  to  defy 
any  effort  to  reform  them.  Thus,  in  the  first  place,  if  the  tempo- 
ral power  assail  them,  they  assert  that  the  temporal  power  has  no 
right  over  them  ;  then,  if  the  holy  Scriptures  be  brought  against 
them,  they  answer,  that  no  one  has  a  right  to  interpret  Scripture 
except  the  pope;  and  thirdly,  when  threatened  with  a  council, 
they  reply,  that  it  belongs  to  the  pope  only  to  assemble  such  a 
meeting.  Now  God  help  us,  and  give  us  a  trumpet  to  throw  down 
these  straw  and  paper  walls  of  Jericho." 

Calvin's  object  was  to  reconcile  the  emperor  to  the  design  of 
the  reformation.     He  therefore  briefly  set   forth  in   his  work  : — 

1.  What  the  abuses  were  which  rendered  interference  necessary  ; 

2.  That  the  means  of  correction  employed  by  the  Evangelical 
party  were  actually  the  best ;  and  in  the  last  place,    but   prin- 

*  Supplex  exhortatio  ad  invictissimum  Cajsarem  Oarolum  QuintunJ  et  illtis- 
trissimos  principes  aliosquo  ordines  Spirse  nunc  Imperii  conventum  a^entes, 
ut  restituenda>  ecclesia?  curam  serio  velint  suscipere  (Do  necessitate  refimnanda 
ecclesice,  1514).  Bucer  had  persuaded  Calvin  to  write  this  work  ;  (tod  in  a 
letter  to  Farel,  dated  March  25,  1544,  Calvin  says  that  Bucer  praised  it  sine 
exceptionc. 


A.D.  1542-49.]  ADDRESS    TO    THE    EMPEROR.  487 

cipally,  why  there  was  no  longer  any  time  for  delay,  the  pro- 
gress of  the  evil  rendering  a  counter-operation  immediately  neces- 
sary. 

Having  again  shown  the  nothingness  of  the  papacy  with  all 
its  principles  and  erroneous  doctrines,  he  proceeds  at  once  to 
express  his  desire  for  a  provincial  synod,  in  opposition  to  the 
catholic  council  of  Trent.  "  The  pope  wishes  for  no  council. 
A  general  council  is  a  mere  deception.  Such  a  thing  is  impos- 
sible ;  but  a  provincial  synod  in  Germany  is  possible, — such  a 
synod,  that  is,  as  it  was  the  custom  to  hold  in  the  ancient 
church."  He  then  represents  to  the  emperor,  in  a  pathetic  man- 
ner, the  danger  to  which  the  church  in  Germany  must  be  exposed, 
unless  such  an  assembly  were  convened.  "  And  Germany,"  he 
adds,  "  will  have  to  answer  for  it  before  God,  if  nothing  be  done. 
'  But  how  can  a  province,'  it  may  be  asked,  '  undertake  this  V  As 
if  provincial  synods  were  not  held  before  general  councils  were 
assembled !  Up  to  the  present  time,  no  one,  Sire,  has  been 
able  to  induce  you  to  act  against  us.  Though  the  sword  has  been 
thrust,  so  to  speak,  into  your  hand,  you  have  remained  calm  and 
unmoved.  A  heretic,  says  Augustine,  should  be  instructed  and 
treated  with  moderation.  How  much  more  ought  we  to  be  treated 
mildly  ;  we  who  desire  nothing  else  but  to  unite  in  the  profession 
of  the  pure  faith !  And  you,  Sire,  and  you,  renowned  princes,  know 
well  enough  that  the  pope  wishes  for  nothing  so  much  as  to  fill 
Germany  with  blood  and  murder." 

That  which  he  says  in  reference  to  the  unity  of  the  church  is 
especially  deserving  of  notice  in  the  present  times.  "  The  prin- 
ciple out  of  which  Paul  deduces  the  unity  of  the  church  (Ephes. 
iv.  5)  is,  that  there  is  only  one  God,  one  baptism,  one  faith. 
We  have  all  one  Father,  and  are  called  to  one  hope.  There- 
fore, according  to  what  is  here  said,  we  shall  be  one  body  and 
one  spirit,  if  we  believe  in  the  same  God,  and  are  united  to- 
gether in  the  bond  of  faith.  But  we  must  keep  constantly  in 
mind  that  faith  comes  from  the  Word  of  God.  This  therefore 
is  certain,  that  there  is  a  holy  unity  among  us,  if,  agreeing  in 
the  pure  doctrine,  we  are  all  one  body  in  Christ.  And  indeed, 
if  it  only  amounted  to  this,  that  we  agree  in  doctrine,  what  sign 
should  we  have  whereby  to  distinguish  the  true  church  of  God 
from  the  wretched  sects  of  unbelievers?  To  this  the  apostle 
answers,  that  Jesus  Christ  has  ordained  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  for  the  edifying  of  the  church,  till  we  all  come  to  the 
unity  of  the  faith ;  that  is,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God." 


488  ADDRESS    TO    THE    EMPEROR.  [CHAP.   IX. 

Could  he  more  openly  recognize  the  unity  of  the  church  as  a 
portion  of  true  doctrine  than  by  thus  referring  us  back  to  Jesus 
Christ  ?  "The  same  apostle  establishes  this  principle  when  he 
prays  God  to  unite  the  Romans  in  concord  with  each  other,  and 
according  to  the  meaning  of  Christ,  that  they  might  with  one 
heart  honor  God.  The  protestants  consequently  have  not  forsaken 
unity,  but  their  opponents  have  done  so,  because  they  have  ban- 
ished Christ  from  the  midst  of  them." 

This  unity,  which  is  only  grounded  on  faith  in  Christ,  and 
disregards  the  unimportant  matters  of  belief,  was  firmly  upheld 
by  the  protestant  controversialists  in  their  subsequent  dis- 
putes with  the  catholics,  among  others  with  Bossuet,  and  es- 
pecially by  Jurieu  in  his  Si/steme  de  V  Unite.  This  author 
grounds  the  unity  of  the  protestant  church  on  its  agreement  in 
fundamental  points  ;  and  to  this  view  Calvin  felt  himself  at  all 
times  obliged  to  revert.  "  Would  that  your  majesty  would 
listen  to  the  holy  Cyprian  speaking  on  the  true  unity  of  the 
church  !" 

Having  established  the  principles  of  this  unity  on  the  episco- 
pacy of  one,  that  is,  Jesus  Christ,  he  adds,  "There  is  conse- 
quently only  one  church,  which  lies  extended  far  and  wide.  As 
there  are  many  rays  of  the  sun,  but  only  one  brightness,  one 
light ;  and  many  branches  on  one  tree,  and  yet  only  one  stem, 
springing  from  one  root ;  and  as  from  one  fountain  flow  many 
brooks,  so  also  the  church,  illuminated  by  the  light  of  one  God, 
spread  through  all  the  world,  is  yet  but  one  light."  Hence  he 
concludes  that  all  heresies  and  schisms  arise  from  this,  that 
men  neglect  to  look  to  the  ground  of  truth,  or  to  seek  the  head, 
the  doctrine  of  the  heavenly  Master. 

"The  general  agitation  of  the  German  empire  is  not  far 
distant;  we  see  how  God  stands  with  the  sword  in  his  hand 
ready  to  strike  us.  Every  one  thinks  of  the  war  with  the  Turks, 
and  no  one  can  think  of  it  without  trembling.  The  cause  how- 
ever of  the  war  which  the  Turks  wage  against  us  is  in  ourselves 
— is  hidden  in  the  innermost  depths  of  our  own  being.  If  we 
would  have  God  help  us,  let  us  first  root  out  the  cause  of  these 
calamities  from  our  hearts.  As  we  feel  assured  that  we  only 
desire  the  interests  of  God's  kingdom,  so  are  we  also  confident 
that  He  will  never  be  wanting  to  Himself,  or  to  his  works.  We 
have  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  true  and  certain  witness  of  our  doc- 
trine:  we  Know  that  we  preach  eternal  truth.  If  the  ingrati- 
tude or  stiff-neckedness  of  those  whom  we  would   help,  be  such 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CONTROVERSY  ON  FREE  GRACE.  489 

as  to  bring  about  the  destruction  of  the  whole  building  of  God, 
then  will  I  here  say  what  it  becomes  a  Christian  to  declare.  We 
shall  die;  but  in  dying  we  shall  be  conquerors,  not  only  because 
death  will  afford  us  an  entrance  into  a  better  world,  but  because 
our  blood  will  be  as  seed  to  diffuse  far  around  this  truth  of  God, 
which  the  world  now  seeks  to  destroy." 

The  progress  of  the  German  reformation  shows  how  impossible 
it  was  for  the  emperor  to  obtain  his  object  of  pacifying  the  church, 
when,  forgetting  at  length  his  prudent  moderation,  he  espoused 
the  interests  of  the  pope,  and  endeavored  to  suppress  by  force 
the  great  spiritual  movement,  but  could  not  hinder  the  triumph 
of  truth.  At  this  time  (1543),  Calvin,  devoted  to  his  high  call- 
ing, held  it  as  his  duty  to  attack,  with  a  strong  hand,  that  funda- 
mental error  of  the  world,  Pelagianism ;  and  in  the  contest 
thence  arising,  the  opposition  of  the  adversaries  to  the  pure  doc- 
trine of  the  Gospel  becomes  more  and  more  apparent.  A  certain 
writer  named  Pighius,  of  Ketnpen,  assailed  Calvin  with  extraor- 
dinary violence,  and  thereby  led  the  production  of  an  eloquent 
and  well-reasoned  work  by  the  latter.  This  writing,  with  that 
on  the  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  of  which  we  shall  shortly 
speak,  affords  a  clearer  view  of  his  opposition  to  the  main  errors 
of  the  catholic  church. 

Whilst  the  Sorbonne  was  defending  the  catholic  faith  in  gene- 
ral, Pighius  was  employed  in  upholding  it  in  its  elements.  His 
controversy  was  a  continuation  of  that  between  Erasmus  and 
Luther ;  a  renewal  of  the  old  struggle  of  the  Pelagians  with 
Augustine  on  the  wonderful  mystery  of  the  freedom  of  the 
human  will.  Luther's  grand  argument  for  the  truth  had  not 
exhausted  the  subject:  his  hyperbolical  expressions  had  rather 
given  occasion  to  offence.  That  ancient  sin  of  the  self-righteous 
world,  which  will  hear  nothing  of  grace,  but  will  depend  upon 
itself  for  salvation  ; — that  doctrine  of  infidelity,  which  deprives 
God  of  the  honor  and  places  man  in  his  stead  ;  which  pretends 
that  the  human  will  is  free  to  choose  good,  and  denies  the  fall 
and  the  misery  of  man ; — this  fundamental  error  of  pride  and 
disbelief,  was  Calvin,  by  applying  his  system  to  its  utmost  ex- 
tent, to  overthrow  and  crush.  But  this  error  was  concentrated 
in  the  Roman  church  ;  it  had  become  identified  with  it.  Prot- 
estantism therefore  was  to  place  in  the  clearest  light,  for  the 
glory  of  God,  the  opposing  truth.  In  our  times,  when  anti- 
christ has,  alas !    been   making  further  progress,  the  reformers 


490  CONTROVERSY    ON    FREE    GRACE.  [CHAP.   IX 

would  have  had  not  only  to  contend  for  the  glory  of  God,  but  foi 
his  personal  existence. 

Pighius,  with  his  natural  view  of  the  freedom  of  man,  is  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  rationalism  of  all  times  ;  and  Calvin,  by  his 
development  of  the  fundamental  idea  of  Christianity,  and  his 
effort  to  establish  it,  prepared  already,  as  a  representative  of  or- 
thodoxy, the  future  victory  of  the  synod  of  Dort.  When  such 
grand  thoughts  as  those  uttered  by  Calvin  have  been  once  ex- 
pressed with  clearness,  and  made  themselves  feit  in  practical  life, 
the  human  spirit  can  no  longer  remain  stationary. 

To  lessen  in  some  degree  the  violence  of  the  controversy,  a 
middle  way  had  been  proposed  in  the  fifth  century  ;  this  was 
called  semi-Pelagianism.  According  to  this  system,  death  is  the 
consequence  of  Adam's  sin  :  men  are  saved  by  grace,  through 
the  death  of  Jesus  and  baptism;  but  a  will  to  good  and  to  faith 
is  expected  on  their  side.  Man  has  attained  the  ability  to 
believe. 

This  doctrine  found  admission  into  the  church  during  the  reign 
of  scholasticism  ;  but  Luther  restored  the  pure  Augustine  system, 
and  defended  it  with  invincible  force.  Calvin,  in  his  work,  sup- 
ported the  views  of  the  German  theologians,  and  addressing  Pighius 
says,  "You  must  not  wonder  that  the  doctrine  of  these  men  pre- 
vails so  widely.  It  is  not  Luther  who  has  spoken  :  God  has  sent 
forth  his  lightnings  by  his  mouth." 

The  reformers  altogether  agreed  with  each  other  in  this  doc- 
trine, and  the  Augsburg  confession  and  the  Apology  speak  the 
same  language  as  Calvin.  In  the  second  article  of  the  Confession 
it  is  said,  "And  further  it  is  taught,  that  after  the  fall  of  Adam, 
all  men,  as  naturally  born,  are  conceived  and  born  in  sin  ;  that  is, 
that  all  from  their  mother's  womb  are  full  of  evil  desires  and  inclina- 
tions, and  can  naturally  have  no  fear  of  God,  no  love  of  God,  no 
faith  in  God  ;  and  further,  this  inborn  corruption  and  original  sin 
are  actual  sin,  and  condemn  all  those  who  inherit  it  to  God's 
eternal  wrath,  unless  they  be  born  again  through  baptism  and 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Here  the  Pelagians  and  others,  who  regard 
original  sin  as  not  sin,  and  who  endeavor  to  make  nature  appear 
holy  and  efficacious,  and  thereby  lessen  the  merits  of  Christ  and 
his  sufferings,  are  utterly  rejected." 

Augustine's  strong  representation  of  the  subject  stands  directly 
opposed  to  the  endeavor  of  the  Romish  church  to  appropriate 
to    itself,     and    to    connect    with    its     institutions,    the    power 


A.D.  1542-49.]  ORIGINAL    SIN.  491 

of  salvation.  Thus  it  exhibits,  not  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  suffi- 
ciency of  Christ's  death,  but  teaches  that  his  death  availed  only 
for  the  remission  of  original  sin,  and  that  other  sins  must  be 
atoned  for  by  good  works.  Here  their  treasure  of  good  works 
comes  to  their  help,  and  the  opinion  of  those  is  readily  adopted, 
who,  while  they  assert  that  the  cause  of  sin  may  be  found  in  the 
perverted  will  of  man,  yet  admit  the  notion  that  it  is  merely  a 
strange,  an  imputed  guilt  which  adheres  to  man  from  the  sin  of 
Adam;  that  nature,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  freed  from  this  guilt, 
will  attain  to  its  perfect  integrity  as  before  the  fall;  and  that  man 
may  consequently  acquire  blessedness  through  his  own  power 
and  deserts.  This  restoration  of  nature  was  called  justification, 
the  nature  of  man  being  rendered  righteous  through  the  removal 
of  the  inherited  guilt. 

Hence  the  reformers  were  called  upon  to  show,  that  original 
sin  is  not  merely  lust,  but  an  actual  inability  to  attain  to  righte- 
ousness without  the  help  and  grace  of  God.  Melancthon  has 
very  clearly  contrasted  these  doctrines,  and  both  in  the  Latin 
and  German  copies  of  the  Confession  calls  original  sin  a  disease. 
The  Roman  theologians,  on  the  contrary,  teach  that  this  guilt, 
which  is  foreign  to  man,  is  taken  away  by  baptism,  and  hence 
the  vast  importance  of  that  sacrament  in  their  eyes.  Thus  too 
their  anger,  when,  at  the  beginning,  Luther  asserted  that  original 
sin  remains  after  baptism.  Leo  X.  wholly  and  distinctly  con- 
demned this  dogma,  as  altogether  opposed  to  the  sacred  order  of 
the  church.  But  that  which  was  most  objectionable  in  Luther, 
he  represented  as  nothing  worth  all  pretensions  to  individual 
desert,  and  wholly  set  aside  the  sufficiency  of  the  law,  the  idea 
of  perfection,  and  of  supererogatory  merits  existing  in  some  few 
men  to  be  applied  to  the  aid  of  sinners.  With  its  semi-Pelagian- 
ism,  the  corner-stone  of  its  theology,  the  Romish  church  must 
itself  fall.  Closely  connected  with  the  fundamental  question  of 
original  sin  is  that  which  refers  to  grace  and  free-will.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Evangelical  view  of  the  subject,  grace  only  can  loose 
the  will  in  bondage  through  sin  ;  and  conversion,  therefore,  must 
depend  upon  the  election  of  God.  We  shall  consider  the  first 
question  in  our  notice  of  the  work  against  the  Tridentine  Decrees; 
and  the  second  in  our  present  examination  of  the  treatise  of 
Pighius. 

Erasmus  had  treated  the  question  of  the  natural  freedom  of 
man  to  good.     Luther's  answer  is  well-known.*     Calvin's  prill- 

*  See  Basnage,  Hist,  des  Eglises  R.  t  ii.  pp.  262-272. 


492  CALVIN    AND    PIGHIUS.  [CHAP.  IX. 

ciples  on  freedom  and  predestination  agree  with  those  of  Luther. 
He  asserts  that  men  fall  through  their  own  guilt,  and  that  God 
can,  without  any  injustice  on  his  part,  allow  them  to  perish  ;  that 
the  first  man  destroyed  himself  by  his  own  free-will,  through  pre- 
ferring the  slavery  of  Satan  to  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  that  the 
divine  decrees  however  were  not  the  cause  of  sin,  but  the  will  of 
man.  "  Why  do  you  ascend  to  heaven,  to  look  there  for  the 
cause  of  your  sin,  whereas  it  is  in  yourselves?  Let  men  harden 
and  blind  themselves  as  they  please,  they  can  never  lose  the  feel- 
ing of  their  inward  corruption,  and  their  conscience  will  condemn 
them,  whatever  impiety,  error  and  sensuality  may  do  to  make 
men  appear  holy  in  their  own  eyes." 

Pighius  is  only  worthy  of  notice  because  he  suffered  himself 
to  be  convinced,  by  the  reading  of  Calvin's  work,  of  the  truth  of 
his  views.  Calvin  characterized  him  as  a  hungry  hound,  who 
avenged  himself  by  barking  because  he  could  not  bite,  and  de- 
scribed him  under  the  name  of  Plagiarius.* 

The  tendency  also  which  Calvin  exhibited  to  unite  himself 
with  Melancthon,  and  thereby  establish  conformity  of  doctrine, 
is  deserving  observation.  He  dedicated  his  work  to  him,  and 
the  value  which  Melancthon  assigned  to  this  mark  of  respect  is 
shown  in  his  letter  of  thanks.  Calvin  complained  that  Pighius 
had  raged  against,  tire  fundamental  truths  of  the  reformed  church 
in  ten  books.  "  If  I  had  not  answered  him,"  he  says,  "  the 
honor  of  Christ  would  have  been  trodden  under  foot,  and  I 
should  have  been  a  traitor  to  the  interests  of  the  Saviour.  So 
many  things  take  place  daily,  both  from  within  and  without, 
that  I  am  almost  pressed  down.  We  have  scarcely  time  for  re- 
flection, and  my  spirit  is  driven  to  and  fro.  But  our  opponents 
have  ample  leisure,  and  after  an  overthrow  they  betake  them- 
selves quietly  to  repose,  and  meditate  a  fresh  attack.  Our 
friends,  moreover,  are  so  far  apart,  that  we  cannot  advise  with 
each  other.  But  let  us  look  at  the  Israelites,  when  they  held 
the  sword  with  one  hand,  and  built  the  temple  with  the  other. 
We  are  few  in  number,  and  how  could  we  resist,  were  it  not  in 
this  manner  that  God   is  pleased  to  make  his  power  more  mani- 

*  Albert  Pigbiua  was  born  at  Campen  in  Ober-Yssel ;  he  studied  at  Louvain  and 
Cologne,  and  acquired  reputation  for  his  knowledge  of  mathematics  and  theology, 
Pope  Hadrian  VI.,  his  former  instructor,  Clemens  VII.,  ami  Paul  III.  had  a  high 
opinion  of  him.  He  was  a  violent  opponent  of  Luther  and  the  other  reformers.  He 
was  archdeacon  of  St.  John's  church  at  Utrecht,  and  by  reading  Calvin's  writings,  in 
order  to  refute  them,  became  a  Calviuist. — Sencbier,  art.  Calvin,  p.  238;  Basnage, 
t.  ii.  p.  610. 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    ON    FREE-WILL.  493 

fest?  The  issue  will  assuredly  be  prosperous  ;  we  are  as  certain 
of  this  as  if  we  saw  the  end,  fighting  as  we  do  under  his  standard. 
And  if  we  be  blamed  by  some,  let  it  suffice  us,  that  God  our 
judge,  and  Christ  our  Lord  and  captain,  with  his  holy  angels, 
are  fur  us.  Let  this  be  the  joy  and  support  of  our  conscience. 
For  myself,  I  know  whom  I  serve;  and  I  stand  fast  in  this,  that 
the  service  which  I  render  Him,  being  dutifully  performed,  is 
acceptable  in  his  sight.  If  man's  judgment  be  considered,  then 
your  own  has  more  weight  with  me  than  that  of  all  other  men 
put  together." 

In  the  introduction,  Calvin  remarks  how  willingly  he  would 
have  remained  silent,  if  his  opponent  had  not  slated  that  he 
would  confute  him  and  his  Institutions,  in  order  to  overthrow  both 
Luther  and  all  the  rest  through  him, — he,  that  is  Calvin,  having 
argued  the  whole  subject  with  the  greatest  care.  "Although  the 
army  of  God  numbers  many  soldiers  belter  armed  and  more  skil- 
ful than  1  am,  yet,  being  especially  challenged,  I  will  enter  the 
arena,  supported  by  the  strength  and  with  the  spiritual  weapons 
of  my  heavenly  King  and  leader,  to  chastise  the  insolence  of  this 
haughty  Goliath."  The  work  itself*  is  characterized  by  clear- 
ness and  moderation,  but  not  by  any  powerful  logical  deductions. 
It  is  easy  to  see  that  he  felt  the  difficulties  attending  his  doc- 
trine. 

In  the  first  book,  Calvin  confutes  the  notion  of  a  free  will,  and 
defends  Luther,  among  others,  against  the  accusation  of  denying 
good  works.  "  He  has  not  spoken  of  them  to  deprive  them  of 
all  worth  in  the  sight  of  God,  nor  has  he  ever  denied  that  God. 
will  reward  them.  He  has  only  desired  to  show  what  they  are 
if  viewed  according  to  their  actual  value,  and  not  according  to 
the  mercy  of  God.  But  you  will  say,  that  in  Luther's  mode 
of  expressing  himself,  the  whole  subject  sounds  hyperbolical : 
although  I  am  ready  to  allow  this,  yet  I  contend  that  he  had 
good  reasons  for  using  this  strong  kind  of  language.  He  saw  the 
world  so  deep-sunk  in  mortal  slumber,  through  its  false  and  dan- 
gerous confidence  in  the  holiness  of  works,  that  he  despaired  of 
awakening  it  by  words, — by  his  voice;  the  sound  of  the  trumpet 
only  could  arouse  it.  Thunder  and  lightning  seemed  necessary 
to  him." 

Calvin  comes  at  last  to  the  conclusion,  that,  as  there  is  some- 

*  It  appeared  under  the  title,  "J.  Calvini  Defensio  Sacra;  et  Orfhodoxce  Doctrinac 
de  Servitute  et  Liberatione  Huniani  Arbitrii  adversus  Calumnias  Alb.  Pighii."  Gen. 
1643. 


494  CALVIN    AND    PIGIIIUS.  [CHAP.  IX. 

what  sinful,  even  in  every  good  work,  they  must  all  be  viewed  in 
the  light  of  sins,  if  judged  strictly  according  to  their  worth,  and 
not  according  to  the  grace  of  God.  "We  have  changed  nothing 
in  this  doctrine.  It  is  true,  that  much  which  Luther  wrote  in  a 
scholastic  and  unpopular  style  has  been  thoughtfully  and  skil- 
fully presented  in  a  milder  form  by  Melanclhon,  to  make  it  more 
acceptable  to  the  ordinary  understandings  of  men.  But  with  re- 
gard to  Luther  himself,  we  entertain  no  doubt  that  he  ought  to 
be  considered  as  an  altogether  extraordinary  apostle  of  the  Lord, 
through  whose  labor  and  office  at  this  time  the  Gospel  has  been 
admirably  set  forth  in  its  purity  ;  and  as  for  myself,  I  will  readily 
admit,  as  it  is  related  Solon  was  accustomed  to  say  of  himself, 
that  as  I  daily  become  older,  so  I  daily  learn." 

On  other  accusations  which  Pighius  brought  against  Luther, 
Calvin  finely  remarks: — "His  most  angry  complaints  tend  to 
this,  that  Luther  was  a  monster  of  Tartarus,  because  he  was 
often  subjected,  through  mighty  struggles  of  conscience,  to  the 
pains  and  terrors  of  hell.  But  if  this  babbler  had  only  been  able 
to  understand,  even  as  in  a  dream,  what  this  signifies,  and  what 
is  the  worth  of  such  struggles,  he  would  be  astounded,  or  be  lost 
in  the  admiration  and  praise  of  Luther.  It  is  the  common  lot  of 
the  pious  to  suffer  the  severest  anguish  of  conscience.  Thus 
taught,  they  become  imbued  with  true  humility  and  the  fear  of 
God.  Every  one,  according  as  he  is  distinguished  for  excellency 
of  spirit,  is  tried  in  this  m)7sterious  and  unwonted  manner,  so 
that  he  can  say,  that  he  has  not  only  been  encompassed  by  the 
snares  of  death,  but  by  hell  itself.  Hence  the  most  excellent  of 
the  saints  form,  as  it  were,  a  theatre  selected  for  the  wonderful 
exercise  of  God's  righteous  judgments.  This  is  the  wrestling  of 
Jacob,  in  which  he  contended  with  God.  To  comprehend  the 
violence  of  the  struggle,  let  us  consider  the  power  of  God,  and 
that  he  who  engages  in  it  hangs  his  whole  life  upon  the  issue. 
But  this  is  said  to  the  faithful  only."* 

In  the  second  book,  the  arguments  of  the  opponent  in  favor  of 
free-will  arc  answered. 

"He  objects  to  us,  in  the  first  place,  that  if  we  can  do  neither 
good  nor  evil,  and  everything  happens  by  necessity  through  the 
power  of  God,  there  can  be  no  reason  why  wc  should  not  ceas<; 
from  acting  at  all.  I  answer  with  Solomon,t  'A  man's  heart 
deviseth  his  way,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps.'  To  his 
second  argument,  'Why  should  offences  be  punished  by  the  law, 
*  Ed.  Amst.  t.  viii.  pp.  119,  121.  f  Prov.  xvi.  9. 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    PIGHIUS. 

if  they  happen  of  necessity  ?  How  can  the  judge  condemn  him 
through  whom  God  has  performed  his  work?  If  a  murder  has 
been  committed,  do  we  not  immediately  snatch  the  sword  of  ven- 
geance? But  according  to  Luther's  doctrine,  the  wicked  in  God's 
hand  are  nothing  more  than  the  sword  in  the  hand  of  man.' — -I 
answer :  the  resolution  of  this  difficulty  may  be  found  in  the  con- 
sideration, that  men  ought  to  view  God's  government  of  the  world, 
not  with  impious  arrogance,  but  with  devout  humility.  Moreover, 
we  have  not  said,  that  the  wicked  sin  with  such  a  necessity  that 
they  do  not  act  with  wilful  and  considerate  wickedness.  Neces- 
sity consists  in  this,  that  God  completes  his  designs  thereby  :  this 
is  fixed  and  unalterable.  But  at  the  same  time,  because  the  in- 
tention and  the  will  to  do  evil  are  in  them,  the  wicked  are  guilty 
of  the  sin  committed.  Some  one  may  here  say,  that  God  urges 
and  leads  them  to  this.  Yes,  we  answer,  but  so  that  herein  God 
acts  on  the  one  side,  and  they  on  the  other.  They  pursue  their 
own  wicked  desire,  while  God  so  employs  their  wickedness  that 
He  attains  his  righteous  end.  The  holy  Scripture  says,  '  Assur 
is  the  rod  of  his  anger ;'  and  how  could  the  axe  be  proud  which 
is  lifted  by  the  hand  of  God  ? 

"  When  our  opponent  therefore  argues,  in  the  third  place, 
that  this  doctrine  banishes  all  order  and  morality  from  human 
life  ;  that  rewards  are  in  vain  promised  to  virtue,  or  punishments 
denounced  against  vice,  if  that  which  takes  place  happens  by 
necessity  ;  we  answer,  God  employs  subordinate  means  and  in- 
struments. The  world  is  governed  by  law,  but  according  to  the 
order  which  God  has  proposed  to  himself  for  the  upholding  of 
the  world.  We  are  no  stoics,  forming  to  ourselves  the  notion  of 
a  fate  from  the  eternal  connection  of  things.  All  we  say  is,  that 
God  has  not  merely  events  in  his  power,  but  also  the  hearts  of 
men  ;  and  that  He  so  conducts  all  things,  that  nothing  finally 
can  happen,  let  men  do  what  they  will,  which  He  has  not  before 
ordained.  Further  ;  what  seems  chance,  we  call  necessity  ;  not 
through  a  natural  necessity,  but  because  God  rules  all  things  by 
his  eternal  counsels. 

"In  regard  to  the  fourth  argument,  that  men  are  changed 
by  this  doctrine  into  mere  animals,  nay,  into  monsters  ;  we  an- 
swer, that  men  cannot  simply  do  nothing  good,  but  that  they 
cannot  even  think  what  is  good  :  bu  they  must  altogether  de- 
spair of  their  own  power,  and  cast  themselves  into  the  arms  of 
God.     There  is  an  innate  corruption  in  man,  arising  from  ori- 


496  CALVIN    AND    P1GHIUS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

ginal  sin,  so  that  he  can  trace  his  guilt  to  no  other  source,  the 
root  of  the  evil  ihus  existing  in  himself.  Still  there  is  no  creature, 
willing  or  unwilling,  not  subject  to  the  will  of  God.  Consequently, 
whatever  happens,  happens  necessarily.  Satan  himself,  and  all 
wicked  beings,  are  subject  to  the  will  of  God,  so  that  I  hey  cannot 
move  themselves  unless  by  his  command.  His  hand  restrains 
them  as  a  bridle.  But  our  doctrine  has  no  other  aim  than  this, 
that  the  believer  in  Christ  may  rest  secure  in  the  omnipotence  of 
God,  and  may  feel  no  dread  of  either  chance  or  ill-luck  ;  of  either 
man  or  beast,  nor  of  the  devil  himself.  Though  the  reins  which 
held  them  back  may  be  broken  or  loosened,  and  all  be  left  free 
to  obey  the  impulse  of  their  blind  rage,  he  will  only  the  rather 
commit  both  soul  and  body  to  God,  and  so  remain  in  peace  under 
his  protection. 

"The  tenor  of  the  fifth  objection  is,  that  we  make  God  the  au- 
thor of  all  evil ;  that  is,  the  most  cruel  of  beings  out  of  the  most 
righteous,  and  folly  itself  out  of  infinite  wisdom.  Now  1  do  not 
deny  that  the  natural  man  might  publish  such  a  foolishness  to 
the  world.  What  an  absurdity  however  would  it  not  be  to  judge 
the  incomprehensible  decrees  of  God, — those  which  Paul  adored 
with  fear  and  trembling. — because  he  could  not  understand  them 
according  to  weak,  human  reason  !  We  would  therefore  avoid 
this  carnal,  dangerous  rashness,  and  exercise  a  chaste  forbearance 
and  reverence  in  respect  to  the  divine  righteousness.  We  shall 
then  see  that  God  is  not.  the  author  of  evil,  though  it  be  said  that 
He  urges  the  wicked  to  commit  it  as  He  will,  and  that  lie  executes 
and  perfects  his  work  by  their  means  ;  but  we  shall  rather  confess 
that  He  is  a  most  wonderful  and  glorious  Creator,  who  accom- 
plishes good  even  through  evil  instruments,  and  employs  unright- 
ousness  for  purposes  of  good. 

"In  answer  to  the  sixth  argument,  that  we  pervert  or  blas- 
pheme universal  nature,  because  we  despise  all  that  which  man 
derives  from  nature,  we  remark;  this  is  nothing  new  to  find  the 
enemies  of  the  grace  of  God  hiding  themselves  under  a  pre- 
tended love  of  nature.  Augustine  shows  this.  That  it  may  not 
be  supposed  however  that  I  thus  speak  in  order  to  avoid  a  diffi- 
culty, I  am  ready  plainly  to  declare,  that  Luther,  and  all  of  us, 
admit  a  twofold  nature  : — an  original  one,  as  created  by  God, 
pure  and  glorious;  and  another,  which,  corrupted  by  the  fall, 
has  lost  its  inward  excellence.  The  guilt  of  this  corruption  we 
ascribe  to  man,  not  to  God.     If  Pighius  object  to  this  doctrine, 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CALVIN    AND    PIGHIUS.  497 

he  must  attribute  the  error  to  the  apostle,  who  states  it  in  very 
definite  terms;  or  if  he  prefer  it,  we  will  answer  him  from  tho 
mouth  of  Augustine. 

"The  following  will  show  all  the  difficult  points  of  the  argu- 
ment. Our  opponent  explains  the  meaning  of  the  word  arbi- 
trium  or  will.  The  power  of  freedom  is  with  him  the  ability  to 
choose.  It  is  therefore  to  be  called  free-will,  because  the  will  ia 
master  of  itself,  and  pertains  to  itself;  that  is,  it  has  the  power 
to  do  what  it  does,  not  necessarily,  but  so  that  it  may  leave  it 
undone.  With  regard  to  the  word,  however,  I  repeat  here  what 
I  have  said  in  my  Institutes,  that  I  have  no  such  superstitious 
dependence  upon  terms  as  to  contend  about  them,  supposing 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  to  which  they  refer  be  pre- 
served safe  and  uncorrupted.  If  force  be  opposed  to  freedom, 
1  acknowledge,  and  will  always  affirm,  that  there  is  a  free  will, 
a  will  determining  itself,  and  proclaim  every  one  who  thinks 
otherwise  a  heretic.  Let  the  will  be  called  free  in  this  sense, 
that,  is,  because  it  is  not  constrained  or  impelled  irresistibly  from 
without,  but  determines  itself  by  itself,  and  I  will  no  longer  dis- 
pute. But  I  am  mistrustful,  because,  when  this  epithet  is  used 
in  reference  to  the  will,  it  is  commonly  understood  in  an  alto- 
gether different  sense.  If  men,  for  example,  refer  it  to  their  own 
powers,  it  cannot  fail  but  that  they  will  imagine  that  man  has 
the  power  of  good  and  evil  in  himself,  and  that  he  can  therefore 
choose  the  one  or  the  other  by  his  own  might.  It  is  not  without 
use  therefore  that  I  strive  about  the  term.  I  view  it  rather  as 
the  defence  of  a  righteous  cause,  if  I  endeavor  to  abolish  the 
use  of  this  little  word,  at  which  the  greater  part  of  the  world 
stumble  with  so  much  danger,  and  which  we  cannot  find  to  agree 
with  the  sense  of  Scripture.  Freedom  and  bondage,  compul- 
sion (servihido),  are  ideas  opposed  to  each  other,  so  that  if  the 
one  be  adopted,  the  other  is  rejected.  If  now  the  will  of  man 
be  bound,  serva  vohuitas,  it  cannot  correctly  be  called  free.  Let 
us  hear  what  the  Holy  Spirit  says  on  the  subject.  One  sentence 
will  suffice,  the  question  here  concerning  not  the  thing  itself, 
but  the  terms.  When  Paul  describes  the  state  of  the  saints,  he 
says,  that  they  are  in  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin,  unless  freed  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  And  when  he  speaks  of  the  nature  of  man, 
he  says  that  man  is  sold  under  sin.*  But  if  the  saints  be  slaves, 
so  far  as  they  are  left  to  themselves  and  to  their  own  nature,  what 
shall  we  say  of  those  in  whom  nature  alone  lives  and  rules  ?     If, 

*  Rom.  vii.  14-23. 

vol.  i.— 32 


498  CALVIN    AND    PIGHIUS.  [CHAP.  IX. 

after  regeneration,  freedom  is  only  half-acquired,  what  can  there 
be  but  slavery  and  bondage  in  the  first  natural  birth?  Thus 
Paul  says,  '  but  God  be  thanked  that  ye  were  the  servants  of  sin,' 
&c.  He  makes  not  merely  the  carnal  nature,  but  the  whole  man, 
the  slave  of  sin  before  the  new  birth.  Whoever  therefore  says 
that  the  will  is  free,  employs  a  different  expression  to  that  used 
by  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  could  readily  allow  the  learned  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  term,  if  they  adhered  strictly  to  one  sense  of 
the  word :  nor  would  I  forbid  their  so  speaking  even  to  the 
people,  if  the  subject  were  properly  defined.  But  if  this  cannot  be 
done,  I  admonish  readers  to  look  more  to  the  sense  than  to  the 
words  of  what  they  study.  As  Pighius  proceeds  cunningly  to 
work,  and  always  confounds  the  notion  of  necessity  with  compul- 
sion, coactionem  cum  necessitate  ;  and  as  in  this  discussion  very 
much  depends  upon  preserving  the  distinction  between  these 
terms,  so  it  is  very  necessary  to  determine  the  four  following 
points  :— 1.  Whether  the  will  be  free  (libera  voluntas).  2.  Whe- 
ther its  freedom  be  lost  (serva  voluntas).  3.  Whether  it  follow  its 
inner  impulse  (spo?ita)iea  voluntas).  4.  Whether  it  be  subject  to 
compulsion  (coacta  volu?itas). 

"  Free-will  is  commonly  described  as  that  which  has  the  power 
of  choosing  good  or  evil.  So  Pighius  also  describes  it.  A  com- 
pulsed will  there  cannot  be,  these  two  notions  being  opposed  to 
each  other.  But  correct  teaching  requires  us  to  define  the  bond- 
age of  the  will.  We  call  the  will  in  such  a  state,  that  which  is 
forcibly  moved,  not  according  to  its  own  inner  determination 
and  choice,  but  by  outward  causes.  A  self-governing  sponta- 
neous will  is  one  which  is  moved  by  itself,  whatever  direction  it 
may  take,  and  is  never  urged  forward  against  its  own  determi- 
nation. The  servile  will  is  that  which,  through  the  influence  of 
corruption,  is  held  in  bondage  to  wicked  passions,  so  that  it  can 
choose  nothing  but  what  is  evil.  According  to  this  statement, 
we  allow  to  man  the  possession  of  a  free  will,  of  a  self-govern- 
ing will,  so  that,  when  he  fulfils  what  is  wicked,  it  may  be 
ascribed  to  him,  and  to  his  own  free  choice.  We  reject  the  idea 
of  compulsion  and  force,  because  they  are  a  contradiction  to  the 
proper  nature  of  the  will.  But  we  deny  that  it  is  altogether  free, 
because,  through  its  innate  corruption,  it  is  necessarily  impelled 
to  evil,  and  can  desire  nothing  but  what  is  evil.  Wherever  there 
is  service  there  is  necessity,  and  the  main  question  is,  whether 
the  service  be  free  or  compulsory.  We  assert  however  no  other 
necessity  for  sin  than  that  which  exists  in  the  corruption  of  the 


A. D.  1542-49.]  MELANCTHON    TO    CALVIN.  499 

will,  whence  it  follows  that  it  is  in  itself  a  self-determining  will. 
And  now  you  see  that  necessity  and  a  free  assent  can  agree  to- 
g-ether. This  our  opponent  has  endeavored  to  conceal,  by  allow- 
ing it  to  be  supposed,  that  the  freedom  of  man  consists  in  this, 
that  he  may  do  good  or  evil,  without  any  mention  being  made  of 
necessity." 

Calvin  shows  in  the  following  books,  especially  in  the  third,  how 
his  own  doctrine  agrees  with  that  of  Origen,  Tertullian,  Jerome, 
and  Augustine,  and  makes  it  evident  to  his  opponent  that  he,  on 
the  contrary,  is  simply  a  Pelagian. 

Melancthon  thanked  Calvin  for  the  dedication  of  his  work.  The 
latter  was  then  with  Bucer,  who  had  been  invited  to  Cologne  to 
reform  the  church  there.  In  his  letter  he  exhorted  Calvin, 
younger  than  himself,  as  a  new  champion  of  the  church,  to  come 
forth  in  those  perilous  times,  for  he  felt  himself  old  and  weary  of 
life.  He  spoke  very  mildly  on  the  subject  of  election,  and  ex- 
pressed it  as  his  opinion  that  Calvin  had  conducted  his  cause  with 
piety  and  eloquence  (non  solum  pie,  sed  etiam  eloquent er) :  "I 
should  be  thankful,  as  well  for  the  expression  of  my  gratitude  as 
for  the  opportunity  of  stating  my  opinions  fully,  as  we  have  been 
accustomed  to  do  when  together,  to  be  able  to  speak  with  you. 
Although  I  do  not  pretend  to  so  much  talent  and  learning  as  you 
give  me  credit  for,  and  we  must  especially  confess  our  weakness 
in  the  church,  yet  I  rejoice  exceedingly  at  your  kind  feeling  to- 
ward me,  and  give  you  hearty  thanks  for  the  proof  which  you 
have  afforded  of  your  friendship,  in  so  high  a  place,  that  is,  at  the 
beginning  of  such  a  noble  work.* 

"  With  regard  to  the  question  of  predestination,  I  had  a 
learned  friend  in  Tubingen,  Franciscus  Stadianus,  who  was  ac- 
customed to  say,  that  he  considered  both  views  right, — that  every- 
thing happens  as  divine  Providence  has  ordered  it ;  and  yet,  that 
all  things  are  contingent.  He  acknowledged,  however,  that  he 
could  not  himself  show  their  agreement  with  each  other.  If  now 
I  hold  this  position,  that  God  is  not  the  author  of  sin,  nor  can 
will  it,  admit  it  as  an  apology  for  the  weakness  of  my  judg- 
ment, that  the  unlearned  comprehend  how  David  was  carried 
away  by  his  own  will.  I  am  convinced  that,  as  he  had  the 
Holy  Spirit,  he  might  have  retained  Him,  and  that  in  this  strug- 
gle the  will  had  its  own  peculiar  exercise.  Although  this  ques- 
tion might  be  much  more  subtly  handled,  yet  it  seems  to  me 
judicious  to  lead  the  minds  of  people  to  consider  it  in  this 
*  "  Scripto  luculento,"  Ep.  48,  ed.  Amst.  p.  174. 


500  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.         [CHAP.  IX. 

manner.  Let  us  accuse  our  own  will  when  we  fall.  Let  us  not 
look  for  the  cause  in  God,  or  rise  in  judgment  against  Him. 
Let  us  rather  reflect  that  God  will  help  us,  and  stand  by  us  in 
the  conflict.  '  Do  but  will,'  says  Basil,  '  and  God  will  aid  you.' 
Let  us  then  praise  the  goodness  of  God  without  ceasing.  He 
promises  and  secures  us  help :  but  He  does  this  only  to  those 
who  pray  ;  that  is,  to  such  as  depend  on  his  promises  ;  for  with 
the  Word  of  God  must  everything  be  begun,  and  nothing  can 
resist  his  promise.  Let  us  devote  ourselves  to  Him,  and  not 
rebel:  we  shall  then  agree,  the  secret  counsel  of  God  being  re- 
vealed to  us.  He  himself  assists  him  who  seeks  to  promote 
unity,  and  wrorks  by  his  Word.  I  write  this,  but  not  to  pre- 
scribe aught  to  you,  the  most  learned  of  men,  and  the  most  ac- 
quainted of  all  others  with  religious  controversies.  I  know  also 
that  what  I  say  is  in  perfect  agreement  with  your  own  ideas. 
But  my  meaning  is  palpable,  and  immediately  adapted  to  com- 
mon use." 

Calvin  enters  more  deeply  into  the  consideration  of  the  dif- 
ference between  the  two  churches,  in  his  work  against  the  coun- 
cil of  Trent.  A  dialectic  undertaking  of  this  kind  is  not  to  be 
overlooked  at  a  period  when  works,  like  that  of  Mohler,  make  so 
strong  an  impression  on  the  public  mind.  The  writer  has  treated 
of  the  separation  of  the  two  churches  with  a  certain  kind  of  free- 
dom, and  ascribes  their  division  to  the  desire  of  both  to  support 
pure  Christianity.  He  at  the  same  time  looks  forward  to  their 
reconciliation,  but  still  describes  protestantism  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  must  seem  to  have  sprung  from  a  strongly  excited,  one- 
sided feeling:  from  genuine  Christian  zeal  indeed,  but  yet  in 
every  respect,  especially  in  regard  to  justification,  speaking  rashly 
and  passing  inconsiderate  judgments.  Now,  where  much  depends 
upon  clearness  of  ideas,  to  bring  about  that  happier  epoch  in 
which  protestants  and  catholics  must  feel  constrained  mutually 
to  acknowledge,  that  the  phenomenon  of  their  two  churches  rests 
upon  an  opposition  in  their  history,  which,  after  the  clearing 
away  of  what  is  sinful,  will  resolve  itself  in  a  twofold  blessing, 
and  in  the  loftier  extension  of  Christianity,  as  soon  as  the  fitting 
time  is  come, — in  all  these  respects  Calvin's  acuteness  must  be 
of  great  use  to  lead  minds  less  clear  and  powerful  than  his  own 
to  concord  and  unity.  His  anger  and  irony  belonged  to  his  times, 
and  instead  of  doing  harm,  rather  served  to  add  interest  to  his 
work. 

The  history  of  the  synod  is  well  known.     The  protestants  had 


A.D.   1542-49.]    CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.  501 

solemnly  declared  at  Speier,  that  they  would  send  no  repre- 
sentatives to  Italy,  nor  recognize  any  council  held  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  German  empire.  It  was  on  the  18th  of  January, 
1546,  that  the  first  meeting  of  the  council  was  opened  at  Man- 
tua, and  in  the  following  it  was  determined  to  draw  up  a  con- 
fession of  faith.  Without  examining  the  grounds  of  the  ex- 
isting evils,  the  synod  employed  itself  in  defining  points  of  faith 
for  the  whole  church,  or  in  merely  sanctioning  the  decrees  of  the 
pope.  As  the  evangelical  church  depends  wholly  upon  the  pure 
Gospel,  it  was  at  once  determined,  in  opposition  to  the  proteslants, 
that  the  apocryphal  books  should  be  equally  esteemed  with  the 
canonical;  that  traditions  were  as  holy  as  the  Word  of  God  ;  that 
the  Vulgate  was  of  authority  in  controversies  ;  and  that  those 
who  opposed  these  dogmas  were  anathematized. 

Thus  the  design  of  putting  an  end  to  the  unhappy  schism  by 
a  general  council  was  wholly  frustrated.  The  Tridentine  synod 
was  a  mere  instrument  of  papal  policy,  but  not  sufficient  even 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed.  Little  concerned 
about  the  peace  or  freedom  of  the  church,  Rome  sought  only  its 
own  glory  ;  the  firmer  establishment  of  its  power  and  anti- 
christian  principles.  The  Tridentine  decrees  were  even  in  catho- 
lic countries  received  with  limitations,  and  Henry  II.  formally 
protested  against  the  council.  Instead  of  subjecting  the  Evan- 
gelical party  to  his  power  by  this  measure,  the  pope  made  the 
breach  wider ;  he  drew  the  line  of  demarkation  between  them 
more  distinctly  ;  he  established  the  opposition  which  it  was  so 
greatly  the  interest  of  the  catholic  church  to  remove,  and  which 
must  now  continue  as  long  as  the  Romish  element  in  that  church 
prevails,  and  its  political  interests  overpower  the  voice  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Calvin  was  the  first  to  oppose  the  council :  he  controverted 
the  decrees  of  the  first  seven  sessions :  his  remarks  are  as  pro- 
found as  they  are  learned.  The  catholics  were  very  angry  at 
his  work,  and  Cochlaeus  felt  himself  constrained  to  answer  it. 
Calvin  begins  by  showing  that  no  such  an  assembly  could  have 
any  binding  authority.  He  quotes  the  sentiments  of  Augustine 
on  the  council  of  Nicsea,  in  his  work  against  the  Arian  Maximus. 
That  father  said,  that  he  would  not  avail  himself  of  the  author- 
ity of  that  great  council,  as  if  its  decrees  were  laws:  "Our  dis- 
pute must  be  settled  by  an  appeal  to  Scripture,  which  belongs  ex- 
clusively neither  to  you  nor  me,  but  to  us  both." 

Calvin   shows   still   further,  in   the  preface   to  his  work,   how 


502  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.        [CHAP.  IX. 

ridiculous  it  was  for  a  council,  at  which  scarcely  forty  bishops 
were  present,  though  pretending  to  represent  the  whole  church, 
to  assume  the  character  of  an  infallible  assembly: — <: If  these 
worthy  fathers,"  says  he,  "  respect  each  other,  must  they  not 
feel  ashamed  when  considering  at  whose  call  they  stood?  The 
whole  popedom  must  acknowledge  that  there  was  nothing  but  a 
vain  show  of  bishops  at  Trent.  I  will  not  pretend  to  interfere 
with  the  honor  of  other  nations,  but  being  a  Frenchman,  I  will 
ask  my  countrymen,  what  price  they  set  upon  their  own  honor? 
France  is  assuredly  one  of  the  most  important  provinces  of  the 
church,  and  yet  only  two  French  bishops  have  been  present  at 
the  council,  the  one  from  Rennes,  the  other  from  Clermont,  both 
equally  weak  and  unlearned.  The  second  was  absolutely,  but  a 
short  time  since,  a  vagrant,  a  mad  sort  of  hound,  running  after 
harlots,  till  he  at  last  united  himself  to  a  certain  famous  dame 
at  Paris,  with  as  little  sense  as  himself.  These  two  bishops 
were  not  acquainted  with  the  simplest  elements  of  theology,  and 
yet  the  fate  of  the  whole  church  was  to  be  left  depending  upon 
their  nod.  Now  I  will  ask  you,  my  fellow-countrymen,  who 
among  you  would  believe  that  such  an  assembly,  however  great 
it  had  been,  could  represent  the  Holy  Spirit?  There  might  be 
some  monks  there  also,  who  were  running  after  cardinals'-hats 
and  lawn-sieves,  and  who  had  bartered  all  their  talk  to  the 
pope;  but  had  they  all  been  angels,  the  whole  council  would 
have  been  a  mockery,  its  decrees  being  wholly  dependent  upon 
the  dictation  of  the  pontiff.  He  controlled,  as  it  were,  the  Holy 
Spirit.  As  soon  as  a  decree  was  ready,  couriers  hastened  to 
Rome  to  see  what  their  idol  would  determine  concerning  it. 
The  most  holy  father  then  called  his  council  together.  The  de- 
cree was  examined,  corrected;  and  the  courier  rode  back  as  fast 
as  lie  could.  In  the  next  session  the  secretary  read  the  decree 
already  determined  upon,  and  the  asses  dropped  their  ears  in 
token  of  assent. 

"And  this  now  is  the  oracular  response  which  is  to  bind  the 
whole  world.  Who  then,  however  little  his  wisdom,  will  feel 
angry  with  me,  because,  supported  by  the  Word  of  God,  I  assail 
such  a  council,  and  unmask  an  ape,  though  concealing  himself 
in  a  purple  robe,  that  he  may  appear  an  ape  as  he  is?  I  have 
already  proved  sufficiently  that  these  Neptunian  fathers,  with 
their  Trident,  are  not  so  terrible,  but  that  one  may  chastise 
them  without  fear  by  the  Word  of  God ;  nor  so  holy,  that  it 
should  be   altogether  unlawful  to  disturb    them.      The  Roman 


A.D.  1542-49.]     CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OP    TRENT.  503 

Pontifex  has  assumed  a  mask,  but  it  can  deceive  no  man  who 
has  eyes." 

After  having  thus  shown  his  contempt  for  the  synod,  at  the 
outset,  he  proceeds  to  examine  the  proceedings  of  each  session 
separately,  and  so  employs  the  force  of  his  logic,  of  his  learning 
and  triumphant  intellectual  vigor,  that  the  reader  feels  himself 
sharing  in  the  glory  of  the  victory.  Calvin's  courage  is  so  much 
the  more  to  be  admired,  because,  while  the  grand  assembly  at 
Trent  was  protected  and  patronized  by  the  pope  and  the  vic- 
torious emperor,  the  protestant  churches  were  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  peril.  It  may  be  affirmed  with  truth,  that  Calvin,  at 
this  important  period  of  his  life,  exercised  the  noblest  energies 
of  his  mind,  not  only  in  reference  to  his  own  immediate  circle, 
but  in  respect  to  the  church  at  large.  Thus  he  strengthened 
the  hearts  of  the  reformed,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  how  the 
cause  must  succeed  to  which  he  thus  devoted  the  whole  power  of 
his  mind. 

It  is  difficult  to  select  passages  for  extract  out  of  this  work. 
The  wit  and  force  by  which  it  is  characterized  are  equally  dif- 
fused through  the  whole,  and  every  chapter  of  it  is  important  to 
the  theologian.  Calvin  first  censures  the  speeches  of  the  legates. 
The  language  in  which  the  decrees  are  couched  is  so  unctuous, 
that  the  simple  Christian,  not  seeing  behind  the  curtain,  might 
be  easily  deceived  thereby.  The  fourth  session,  which  treated 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  sixth,  which  discussed  the  doctrine  of 
justification,  furnish  the  main  points  of  the  work,  the  subjects 
here  referred  to  forming  the  whole  foundation  of  the  catholic 
system. 

The  following  is  extracted  from  the  remarks  on  the  fourth 
session  : — "The  old  proverb  says,  'The  Roman  church  conquers 
all  by  sitting.'*  Securely  trusting  in  this,  these  wretched  bas- 
tards of  the  Romish  court,  that  is,  these  children  of  the  great 
whore,  in  proclaiming  this  fourth  session,  promised  themselves 
a  certain  victory.  What  then  hinders  them  now  from  raising  a 
trophy,  or  from  securing  the  fulfilment  of  all  their  wishes,  if 
that  be  allowed  them  which  is  embraced  in  the  present  decree? 
There  are  here  four  principal  points: — in  the  first  place,  they 
affirm  that  the  members  of  the  Christian  church  are  not  to  abide 
by  Scripture  only,  but  must  also  follow  tradition.  Secondly, 
they  insert  in  the  catalogue  of  sacred  Scriptures  all  the  apocry- 
phal books,  and  forbid  their  exclusion  from  the  list.  Thirdly, 
*  Romani  sedendo  vincunt. 


504  CALVIN     ON    THE    COUNCIL    OP    TRENT.       [CHAP.  IX. 

after  having  rejected  all  other  translations  of  the  Bible,  of  what- 
ever kind  they  may  be,  they  retain  the  Vulgate  alone,  and  com- 
mand that  this  should  be  regarded  as  authentic.  And  fourthly, 
they  claim  for  themselves  the  exclusive  right  of  interpreting  all 
doubtful  points  or  obscure  passages,  and  that  without  appeal. 

"  Now,  if  these  four  points  be  yielded,  every  one  will  admit 
that  the  contest  is  at  an  end.  Should  the  dispute  be  continued, 
it  must  be  more  for  the  sake  of  display  than  because  it  is  neces- 
sary. All  which  they  deduce,  if  it  cannot  be  referred  to  holy 
Scripture,  will  find  its  place  among  the  traditions,  which,  ac- 
cording to  them,  are  as  deserving  of  belief  as  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  What  can  we  say  to  them  now,  when  they  thus  defend 
every  gross  and  anile  imagination?  There  is  no  superstition, 
however  monstrous,  before  which  they  are  not  ready  to  cast  this 
shield  of  Ajax." 

Calvin  next  shows  that  the  Romanists  employed  Scripture 
merely  as  a  mask  to  protect  their  opinions ;  that  the  admission 
of  the  apocryphal  books  into  the  canon  was  contrary  to  the  rule 
of  the  primitive  church  ;  and  that  it  was  as  absurd  to  reject  all 
translations  except  the  Vulgate,  as  it  would  be  to  despise  the 
study  of  the  original  languages.  He  quotes  a  number  of  pas- 
sages for  the  amusement  of  the  reader.  "  They  are  not  ashamed," 
he  says,  :' to  stamp  the  Vulgate  of  the  New  Testament  with  the 
seal  of  authenticity,  when  the  writings  of  Valla,  of  Faber,  of 
Erasmus,  are  in  everybody's  hand,  and  enable  even  children  to 
detect  the  numerous  errors  of  that  translation." 

"  I  come  now  to  consider  the  right  of  exposition,  which  they 
arrogate  to  themselves  whenever  a  doubt  arises.  Since  the 
church  enjoys  a  peculiar  prerogative,  available  for  the  common 
good, — and  since,  as  I  am  ready  to  allow,  the  Scriptures  were 
not  written  according  to  private  desire,  so  it  would  not  be  con- 
sistent with  their  dignity  that  they  should  be  understood  accord- 
ing to  private  notions.  If  therefore  doubts  arise  on  any  difficult 
passage,  the  best  course  that  can  be  taken  to  determine  the  true 
sense,  is  to  assemble  learned,  God-fearing  men.  and  let  them 
consider  the  subject.  But  this  is  not  the  present  question-. 
They  wish,  by  their  tyrannical  decree,  utterly  to  destroy  the 
freedom  of  the  church,  while  they  claim  for  themselves  an  un- 
conditional and  capricious  authority.  Whatever  meaning  they 
have  given  to  Scripture,  that  we  must,  of  necessity,  admit.  It  is 
not  to  be  permitted  for  any  one,  without  their  leave,  to  prove 
aught   from  Scripture.     And  would   to    God    they  were   mighty 


A.D.  1542-49.]      CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.  505 

enough  to  undertake  so  great  a  work !  But  they  wish  to  put  the 
saddle  of  a  horse  on  the  back  of  an  ox,  or  rather  to  make  an  ass 
play  the  harp.  Their  real  design  is  to  make  people  venerate  the 
Bible  in  holy  darkness  ;  to  protect  it,  like  the  mysteries  of  Diana, 
from  the  attempts  of  any  one  to  understand  it. 

"  We  should  never  have  done  were  I  to  bring  examples,  in 
every  instance,  to  show  what  nets  have  been  woven  by  means  of 
this  decree,  to  impose  upon  us  a  most  unjust  and  intolerable 
slavery.  This  therefore  must  suffice.  About  800  years  after 
the  birth  of  Christ,  a  synod  was  held  at  Nicaea  to  restore  the 
worship  of  images,  which  had  been  prohibited  in  the  reign  of 
the  emperor  Leo.  The  papists  regard  this,  because  ever  favor- 
able to  superstition,  as  right  and  holy.  According  moreover  to 
their  infallible  principle,  they  cannot  err  in  their  interpretation 
of  Scripture.  But  if  such  interpreters  are  to  enjoy  an  authority 
of  this  kind,  which  it  would  be  horrible  to  contemplate,  the  reli- 
gion of  Egypt  will  take  the  place  of  the  Gospel,  and  we  shall 
be  reduced,  in  time,  to  the  worship  of  serpents,  of  storks,  cats 
and  onions.  But  that  it  may  appear  to  be  agreeable  to  Scrip- 
ture that  churches  should  be  adorned  with  paintings  and  sta- 
tues, the  following  passages  are  adduced  : — '  God  created  man 
after  his  own  image.'  '  Joshua  erected  twelve  stones.'  '  No 
man  lights  a  candle  and  places  it  under  a  bushel :'  whence  it  is 
concluded  that  images  ought  to  be  set  upon  the  altar.  So  also, 
'Let  the  light  of  thy  countenance,  O  Lord,  shine  upon  us!' 
And.  'As  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  also  seen.'  'Lord,  I  have 
loved  the  beauty  of  thine  house.'  '  Show  me  thy  countenance, 
for  it  is  fair.' 

"To  support  the  worship  of  images,  they  defend  the  super- 
stition with  the  following  quotations : — '  Abraham  worshipped 
the  people  of  the  land.'  'Jacob  erected  a  memorial  and  blessed 
it.'  '  He  worshipped  the  top  of  the  staff  of  his  son  Joseph  :' 
that  is,  he  bowed  before  the  staff  of  Joseph  to  signify  rever- 
ence. So  also  :  '  The  rich  of  the  people  shall  supplicate  before 
thy  face.'  '  Worship  his  footstool.'  '  God  is  admired  in  all  his 
saints.'  And  that  their  rashness  may  be  carried  to  the  highest 
point,  they  quote  from  another  psalm,  '  The  saints  which  are 
upon  the  earth,'  and  refer  this  to  pictures.  I  know  that  that 
which  I  am  saying  must  seem  almost  incredible.  I  am  even  my- 
self astounded  as  I  read  it,  although  my  ears  have  been  long 
hardened  by  their  perversions. 

"The  main  object  of  the  Tridentine  spirit,  as  seen  in  their 


506  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.        [CHAP.  IX. 

decree,  is  this,  to  make  Scripture  nothing  for  us  but  what  the 
monks  dream.  And  what  do  they  understand  by  the  church? 
The  hishops  who  assemble  under  the  banner  of  antichrist. 
What  sort  of  interpretation  will  they  bring?  The  greater  num- 
ber of  them  are  ignorant  even  of  grammar ;  nor  will  they  ven- 
ture to  deny  that  I  speak  the  truth  when  I  say,  that  there  is 
scarcely  one  in  a  hundred  of  them  who  has  read  a  whole  pro- 
phetical book,  an  apostolic  epistle,  or  a  gospel.  Their  minds 
are  occupied  with  cares  of  too  opposite  a  nature  to  allow  of  their 
troubling  themselves  about  Scripture.  It  only  remains  there- 
fore for  them  to  resign  this  privilege  to  the  apostolic  chair;  then 
to  let  the  sacred  mouth  of  Paul  Farnese  be  appealed  to  for  in- 
terpretations, or  to  show  us  another  church  worthy  of  under- 
taking tins  important  duty  ;  for  all  their  extravagant  praises  of 
Rome  will  never  convince  us  that  the  rock  Cephas  is  the  head, 
and  that  a  chaste  and  holy  marriage  is  accursed  of  God  as 
something  carnal,  according  to  the  well-known  Romish  expres- 
sions. They  exclaim  that  the  church  would  be  ruined,  if  this 
exclusive  right  of  interpreting  Scripture  should  be  taken  from 
them,  and  so  the  door  be  left  open  to  every  frivolous  spirit  to 
corrupt  the  sense.  And  further,  they  are  accustomed  to  object 
it  to  us  as  a  crime,  and  so  to  expose  us  to  hatred,  that  we  wish 
to  arrogate  to  ourselves  the  right  of  interpreting,  and  to  submit 
to  no  restraint.  Prudence  forbids  my  expressing  myself  on  this 
subject  as  the  matter  would  seem  to  justify.  It  is  true,  how- 
ever, that  through  our  inquiries  into  the  sense  of  holy  Scripture, 
we  have  diffused  more  light  than  all  the  doctors,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  papacy  to  the  present  time.  They  themselves  can- 
not deny  us  this  praise,  and  yet  there  is  not  one  among  us  who 
would  not  willingly  yield  his  opinion  to  the  judgment  of  the 
church.  We  are  far  therefore  from  despising  or  undervaluing 
the  authority  of  the  church,  or  from  giving  the  reins  to  the  fan- 
tastic, and  allowing  them  to  indulge  their  vagaries  unrcproved. 
Would  to  God  that  they  could  show  us  the  church  as  it  is  de- 
picted in  Scripture ;  we  should  then  soon  agree  to  give  it  all  the 
honor  which  they  require  !  But  since  they  invent  a  false  church, 
and  live  on  the  plunder  of  the  true,  leaving  it  to  its  nakedness, 
we  cannot  do  otherwise  than  rise  against  them." 

It  still  remains  for  us  to  speak  of  Calvin's  confutation  of  the 
doctrine  of  original  sin,  that  fundamental  error  of  the  catholic 
church  as  established  at  Trent.  The  fathers  of  the  council  ex- 
pended vast  pains  in   their  endeavor  to  arrive  at  an  agreement 


A.D.  1542-49]       CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.  507 

on  this  point.  In  the  end,  they  expressed  themselves  as  indefi- 
nitely as  possible  on  the  subject,  so  that  their  precise  meaning 
can  only  be  discovered  by  the  condemnation  of  their  opponents. 
Both  our  internal  experience  and  the  Scriptures  show,  that  sin  is 
inherited,  and  that  it  exists  in  every  individual.  This  innate  cor- 
ruption therefore  was  called  original  sin,  as  distinguished  from 
daily  actual  sin.  The  Augustine  doctrine  had  long  been  modi- 
fied by  the  church.  It  was  taught,  as  above  remarked,  that  all 
men  are  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God  through  the  sin  of  the  first 
man,  but  that  original  sin  is  a  foreign  guilt,  and  not  the  proper 
corruption  of  our  nature.  As  soon  therefore  as  this  foreign  sin  is 
taken  away,  man  recovers  his  righteousness.  Lust  indeed  re- 
mains, but  not  in  its  sinfulness,  except  as  an  element  in  the 
struggle  for  the  crown  of  eternal  life.  Since  man  now  sins 
through  his  own  wickedness,  he  must  either  bear  the  punishment 
of  his  sins  or  make  satisfaction  for  them,  Christ  having  atoned 
only  for  original  sin.  Satisfaction  consists  in  this,  that  we  take 
upon  ourselves  some  portion  of  the  divine  punishment,  in  such  a 
way,  that  it  is  imputed  to  us  as  if  we  had  suffered  our  own 
proper  amount  of  chastisement ;  and  the  church  alone  has  the 
power  of  imparting  of  the  superabundant  merits  of  Christ,  and 
of  delivering  the  soul  from  purgatory  and  hell ;  whence  there  is 
no  salvation  beyond  the  pale  of  the  church. 

After  this  statement,  it  will  be  easier  for  the  reader  to  under- 
stand the  character  of  that  concealed  pelagianism  of  the  decree, 
from  which  Calvin  tore  the  mask. 

Thus  he  said  to  the  Tridentines : — "  You  declare  yourselves 
at  the  outset  against  the  Pelagians  in  four  articles,  but  these  re- 
fer to  points  about  which,  in  the  present  day,  there  is  no  dispute. 
There'is  something  wicked  in  this,  for  it  is  to  make  it  supposed 
that  pains  are  being  taken  to  allay  a  controversy  belonging  to  our 
own  times.  What  end,  I  ask,  can  you  have,  while  hurling  about 
your  lightnings,  but  that  of  making  the  ignorant  believe  that 
there  is  something  still  behind?  In  the  fifth  article,  however, 
where  you  at  length  expose  your  wares,  you  speak  again  in  your 
proper  tone,  bring  forth  the  follies  of  your  sophists,  and  insolently 
defend  them.  '  Cursed  be  he,'  you  say,  '  who  denies  that  bap- 
tism takes  away  actual  sin.  but  believes  that  it  is  only  rubbed  off, 
as  it  were,  or  not  imputed.'  You  use  this  expression  rub- 
bed, or  scraped,  out,  very  cunningly  ;  because  you  well  know 
that  it  is  greatly  disliked,  and  that  it  was  in  this  way  that 
the    Pelagians   assailed    Augustine.      But   let    them    take  their 


508  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.       [CHAP.  IX. 

course.  We  teach,  that  all  the  guilt  of  sin  is  actually  taken 
away  by  baptism,  so  that  that  which  remains  of  sin  is  not  im- 
puted. And  that  the  subject  may  be  rendered  still  clearer,  we 
would  have  the  reader  remember,  that  there  is  a  twofold  grace  of 
baptism  ;  for,  on  the  one  hand,  it  procures  us  forgiveness  of  sins  ; 
and,  on  the  other,  the  renewing  of  the  inner  life;  the  new  birth 
— regeneration.  The  forgiveness,  we  assert,  is  perfect:  but  the 
new-birth  is  only  begun,  and  must  be  continued  through  the 
whole  of  our  lives  ;  sin  therefore  still  remains  actually  in  us,  and 
is  not  at  once,  or  in  a  single  day,  rooted  out;  but  because  the 
condemnation  ceases,  sin  is  not  imputed. 

"Nothing  is  more  intelligible  than  this  doctrine.  Let  us  now 
see  why  the  council  so  loads  it  with  anathemas.  '  God,'  say 
these  worthies,  'has  nothing  to  hate  in  the  regenerate.'  If  I  con- 
cede this,  will  it  follow  therefrom  that  sin  is  not  hateful?  or 
rather,  that  God  does  not  hate  that  which  He  may  rightfully  hate, 
because  He  forgives  it?  The  testimony  of  the  apostle  which 
they  adduce  is  altogether  in  our  favor;  namely,  that  'there  is  no 
condemnation  for  them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus;'  for  he  does 
not  hereby  acquit  believers  of  guilt,  as  if  they  were  altogether 
pure,  or  loosed  from  all  sin  ;  but  he  frees  them  from  the  con- 
demnation, because  they  who  sigh,  oppressed  with  the  load  of 
guilt,  are  supported  by  the  consolation  of  which  he  thus  speaks, 
and  speaks  still  more  largely  afterwards. 

"The  fathers  add  to  what  is  above  quoted,  that  nothing  would 
remain,  were  the  case  as  stated,  to  keep  the  baptized  from 
heaven.  This  I  allow  ;  not  as  if  no  further  obstacle  remained 
for  them  to  encounter,  but  because,  clothed  with  the  righteousness 
of  Christ,  nothing  can  injure  them  any  more.  These  horned 
fathers  however  give  a  very  different  account  of  the  matter; 
namely,  that  they  have  put  off  the  old  man,  and  put  on  the  new 
man,  which  is  created  after  God,  and  is  wholly  pure  and  right- 
eous. Who  sees  not  the  deceit  involved  in  this?  He  who  is 
in  the  midst  of  his  work  cannot  be  said  to  have  completed  it. 
Is  it  therefore  not  a  manifest  contradiction  to  say,  that  they  are 
pure  and  righteous  who  are  still  engaged  in  putting  off  the  old 
man  ? 

"  But  let  us  sift  their  decree  still  further.  They  deny  that 
the  evil  desires,  or  that  fuel  of  sin,  which  they  must  recognize 
even  in  the  regenerate,  can  injure  those  who  do  not  yield,  when 
exposed  to  the  conflict.  It  may  not  harm  them  indeed,  and  for 
this  reason,  that  God's  strength  is  made  perfect    in  our   weak- 


A.D.  1542-49.]     CALVIN   ON   THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.  509 

ness.  But  if  they  regard  these  wicked  desires  as  mere  provoca- 
tives to  the  practice  of  virtue,  Paul  had  no  right  to  complain  that 
he  was  so  especially  weak  and  wretched.*  Still  I  am  quite  una- 
ble to  combat  them  with  these  words  of  human  weakness  ;  the 
idea  of  wicked  desires,  of  vice  and  sin,  being  to  them  so  utterly 
wiihout  meaning.  If  the  corruption  in  the  will  be  not  sin,  man 
is  not  a  living  creature.  If  vice  be  without  guilt  before  God,  the 
sun  is  no  longer  bright.  What  shall  I  say  of  sin?  They  declare, 
laughably  enough,  that  Paul  was  driven  to  an  improper  use  of 
this  word,  because  the  lust  spoken  of  is  the  cause  of  sin,  and  is 
derived  from  the  punishment  of  our  father  Adam.  But  the  con- 
nection of  the  apostle's  discourse  is  manifestly  opposed  to  this 
notion.  Having  distinctly  spoken  of  sin,  he  says  soon  after,  'I 
find  that  when  1  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me,  through 
the  law.'  Does  this  also  appear  to  them  as  said  figuratively? 
If  the  argument  concerned  the  word  only,  they  would  have  as 
little  right  to  speak  thus,  as  they  who  deny  that  children  come 
into  the  world  with  actual  sin,  both  parties  giving  the  same 
explanation  of  the  word  'sin.'  The  only  difference  between 
them  is,  that  the  latter  speak  in  such  general  terms  of  ori«-inal 
sin,  that  it  can  scarcely  be  called  sin.  But  these  worthy  fathers 
wish  us  to  believe,  that  the  same  thing,  after  baptism,  is  no 
longer  that  which  it  is,  although  it  continues  to  be  the  same 
thing.  But  if  they  really  wish  to  make  their  cause  better,  they 
must  first  show  that  the  nature  of  things  can  be  so  altered,  that 
that  which  is  the  same  may  become  unlike  itself.  If  we  treat 
however  of  the  thing  itself,  rather  than  of  the  word,  there  will 
soon  be  an  end  of  all  strife.  No  one  can  deny,  without  folly, 
that  resistance  to  God's  law  is  actually  sin.  Now  that  lust,  even 
in  the  regenerate,  is  such  a  rebellion  against  the  divine  law,  ap- 
pears from  the  apostle  himself.  It  follows  therefrom,  that  ac- 
cording to  its  proper  nature  it  is  sin,  though  not  imputed,  and 
though  the  condemnation  is  taken  away  through  the  grace  of 
Christ.  If  it  be  the  proper  rule  of  Christian  life,  to  love  God  with 
all  the  heart,  with  all  the  mind,  and  with  all  the  strength,  surely 
the  heart  cannot  be  otherwise  inclined  without  a  departure  from 
righteousness.  But  Paul  complained  that  the  righteousness 
which  he  would,  he  could  not,  fulfil.  The  law  demands  of  us  a 
perfect  love,  and  this  we  have  not.  We  ought  to  run,  and  we 
only  limp.  But  these  worthy  fathers  find  nothing  in  all  this 
which  deserves  to  be  called  sin." 

*  Rom.  vii.  24. 


510  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.        [CHAP.  IX. 

In  the  following,  that  is,  the  sixth  session,  the  council  deter- 
mined the  catholic  doctrine  of  justification,  representing  on  the 
one  side  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  on  the  other  the  good  works  of 
men,  as  necessary  to  salvation.  The  service  which  Calvin  ren- 
dered in  his  opposition  consists  in  this,  that  by  his  usual  firmness 
and  appeal  to  principles,  he  exposed  their  error  so  completely,  that 
the  Tridentines  had  not  a  foot  to  stand  upon.  According  to  his 
view,  all  must  be  taken  from  man,  and  all  given  to  God.  In  the 
first  place,  he  repeats  with  Augustine,  that  man  has  lost  his  own 
proper  free-will,  and  is  in  bondage  to  sin.  At  the  same  time  he 
protests  against  the  violent  statement,  that  the  treachery  of  Judas, 
as  well  as  the  calling  of  Paul,  must  be  ascribed  to  God  alone. 
God  however  works  by  the  wicked,  and  permits  the  occurrence  of 
evil.  Thus,  for  example,  it  was  his  counsel  that  Christ  should 
die.  Man  cannot  do  good  works  before  regeneration.  Justifica- 
tion comes  from  faith  alone,  without  external  free-will,  but  de- 
pends upon  faith  and  will  together,  God  disposing  the  will.  The 
faith  which  justifies  us  effects  the  new  birth,  and  is  united  with 
love.  In  opposition  to  the  anathema  of  the  Tridentine  fathers, 
he  declares  justification  to  be  a  firm  trust,  a  belief,  that  God  has 
forgiven  our  sins  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  "If  any  one  as- 
serts," they  say,  "that  a  man  is  freed  from  his  sins,  and  justified, 
because  he  confidently  believes  that  he  is  justified,  and  that  no 
one  can  be  justified  who  does  not  so  believe  ;  and  that  absolu- 
tion and  justification  are  perfected  through  faith, — let  him  be  ac- 
cursed." For  according  to  the  principle  here  condemned,  the 
Christian  would  no  longer  stand  in  need  of  the  salvation-giving 
church. 

Calvin  combined  with  justification,  the  certainty  of  salvation, 
and  the  perseverance  of  the  elect.  The  synod  was  also  obliged, 
according  to  catholic  principles,  to  protest  against  this  doctrine  of 
election.  Thus,  the  elect  and  the  justified  may  fail  all  their  lives 
through. 

Here  follow  Calvin's  definition  and  account  of  works,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  Roman  view  of  the  subject : — "  Works  increase 
not  the  power  of  justification,  though  God  may  reward  them. 
No  works  arc  altogether  pure,  but  are  always  combined  with  sin. 
If  God  rewards  us  with  eternal  life,  this  is  the  result  of  grace.  All 
sin  comes  from  the  want  of  a  true  and  sincere  faith.  Faith  proves 
itself  by  good  works  ;  contrary,  that  is,  to  the  popish  notion,  that 
it  may  remain,  though  grace  be  lost  through  sin  ;  and  that  a  dead 
faith  is  notwithstanding  faith." 


A.D.  1542-49.]     CALVIN    ON    THE  COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.  511 

Calvin  further  asserted,  in  opposition  to  the  papists,  that  a 
man  may  turn,  after  any  sin  committed,  by  true  repentance,  to 
God.  But  the  Tridentines  required  the  sacrament  of  penitence, 
or  confession  ;  which  it  was  not  possible  for  Peter,  or  a  thousand 
others  to  have,  who  died  before  the  institution  of  this  sacrament, 
which  they  call  the  door  of  salvation,  and  of  which  their  own 
historians  testify  that  it  was  established  only  about  400  years 
ago. 

In  the  thirtieth  canon  the  Tridentines  say,  that,  he  is  accursed 
who  believes  that  the  guilt  or  sentence  of  eternal  death  is 
already  wholly  remitted  through  justification,  and  will  accord- 
ingly be  attended  with  no  evil  either  here  or  in  purgatory.  To 
this  Calvin  replies  : — "  The  holy  Scriptures  teach  us  that  if  God 
takes  away  the  guilt,  the  punishment  also  is  remitted.  The  Tri- 
dentines would  appease  God  by  our  temporal  sufferings.  This 
is  easy  for  them,  recognizing  as  they  do  scarcely  any  other  sin 
but  murder.  Many  offences  are  with  them  but  slight  errors, 
and  some  of  the  worst  lusts  are  so  represented  as  to  seem  vir- 
tues which  deserve  praise.  Of  an  evil  conscience  they  think 
nothing.  But  we,  who  after  a  long  trial  feel  ourselves  shamed, 
and  bowed  to  the  dust,  can  only  exclaim  with  David,  'Lord, 
who  can  tell  how  oft  he  offendeth  ?  forgive  me  my  secret  sins.' 
We  cannot  so  easily  make  distinctions.  It  is  not,  we  acknowl- 
edge, to  be  denied,  that  God  often  chastens  us,  even  after  He 
has  forgiven  cur  sin  ;  but  this  is  only  to  improve  us,  and  not 
to  exercise  his  wrath.  It  is  therefore  a  heathenish  fancy  to  sup- 
pose, that  a  man  by  punishments  may  satisfy  the  judgments  of 
God.  There  is  not  a  word  about  purgatory  in  the  whole  of  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  Augustine*  says,  that  when  a  thing  is  so  difficult 
in  itself  to  comprehend,  and  is  not  alluded  to  in  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, it  is  calculated  to  create  perplexity  if  men  meddle  with  the 
subject.  That  purgatory  cannot  be  admitted  without  nullifying 
the  entire  truth  of  the  Bible,  appears  from  this,  that  it  is  founded 
on  the  notion  of  penance.  Our  works  are  not  our  merit ;  they 
are  themselves  given  us  by  grace.  We  can  only  call  them  ours, 
as  we  say,  '  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.'  Merit  is  a  free 
gift."t 

The  last  article  is  humorous.  The  Tridentines  anathematize 
every  one  who  may  believe  that  their  decrees  are.  in  the  slight- 
est degree,  opposed  to  the  honor  of  God,  and  the  merits  of 
*  Ep.  157,  ad  Optatum.  f  See  Canon  xxxii. 


512  CALVIN    ON    THE    COUNCIL    OF    TRENT.        [CHAP.  IX. 

Jesus  Christ: — "An  admirable  provision!  lo  forbid  the  seeing 
of  that  which  every  one  sees  !  They  have  themselves  almost  set 
at  naught  the  honor  of  God  and  Christ,  and  then  thunder  forth 
their  anathemas  against  those  who  dare  to  think  that  they  have 
in  anywise  injured  it.  This  is  just  as  if  some  one  had  killed  a 
man  in  a  public  place  and  in  the  presence  of  the  multitude,  and 
then  should  prohibit  people  from  saying  that  the  murder,  which 
every  one  had  seen,  had  really  been  committed.  It  is  thus  these 
tricksters  deceive  themselves.  They  foolishly  hope  to  if) spire 
others  with  such  fear  by  their  anathemas,  that  they  may  not 
dare  to  recognize  the  impiety  of  which  they  are  themselves  so 
conscious.'' 

In  the  seventh  session,  the  subject  of  the  sacrament,  and  of 
the  government  of  the  church,  was  discussed.  Calvin  has  not 
treated  of  the  canons  which  were  passed  after  the  long  and  fre- 
quent interruptions  in  the  progress  of  the  council.  He  only 
expressed  his  wish  that  the  present  work  should  be  read  in  con- 
nection with  that  'On  the  Necessity  of  Reforming  the  Church. 
The  council  lost  much  of  its  internal  strength,  when,  the  impe- 
rial representatives  remaining  behind  at  Trent,  and  the  papal 
parly  removing  to  Bologna,  both  parties  assailed  each  other  with 
the  most  hostile  spirit.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1551  that  the 
council  could  be  re-opened  at  Trent.  Only  some  few  isolated 
remarks  on  its  proceedings  are  found  in  Calvin's  later  works  ; 
as  for  example,  in  the  preface  to  his  Commentary  on  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles-,  addressed  to  the  king  of  Denmark.  Having 
spoken  of  the  true  and  false  church,  he  says,  "  Without  look- 
ing further  for  examples,  we  see  in  our  own  times,  now  the  Tri- 
dentine,  and  now  the  Bolognese  fathers,  after  having  bit  inly 
contended  against  each  other,  foaming  forth,  on  both  sides,  their 
windy  canons.  There  they  sit  ;  I  know  not  how  many  bishops 
and  abbots,  perhaps  a  hundred  horned  beasts  :  and  if  the  choicest 
flower  of  that  people  should  shine  forth,  it  would  be  nothing 
else  but  a  wicked  conspiracy  against  God.  But  now.  after  the 
pope  has  gathered  together  all  the  filth  and  dregs  that  he  could 
into  a  mass,  a  representative  church  at  once  starts  up  there,  and 
they  are  not.  ashamed  lo  call  that  a  holy,  universal,  legitimate 
synod,  which  deserves  to  be  regarded  in  no  other  light  than 
that  of  a  vain  and  ridiculous  mask.  Let  us,  however,  to  whom 
the  promise  is  given,  that  the  antichrist  who  sits  in  the  temple 
of  God  shall   be  destroyed   by   the   breath   of  his   mouth,  never 


A.D.  1542-49.]  CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  513 

cease  to  oppose  by  the  divine  Word  that  infamous  and  whorish 
presumption  which  so  daringly  insults  it ;  that  all  men  may 
clearly  understand  what  a  difference  there  is  between  the  chaste? 
bride  of  Christ  and  the  shameless  harlot  of  Belial:  between  the 
temple  of  God  and  the  brothel  of  Satan ;  between  the  spiritual 
dwelling  of  the  pious  and  a  sty  for  swine ;  in  a  word,  between 
the  true  church  and  the  Romish  court.  Neither  Euclid  nor 
Archimedes  could  give  a  clearer  proof  than  that  which  we  afford, 
when  we  compare  the  church  described  by  Luke  with  the  syna- 
gogue of  the  pope." 

Thus  the  schism  in  the  community  of  Christ  was  rendered 
permanent.  After  the  discussion  at  Ratisbone,  the  vain  experi- 
ment of  Contarini,  and  the  efforts  made  by  Leibnitz  a  century 
and  a  half  later,  in  his  correspondence  with  Bossuet,  no  further 
step  could  be  taken  to  restore  the  unity  of  the  church.  But  at 
length  it  is  beginning  to  be  seen,  that  the  schism  has  a  deeper 
foundation  than  is  ordinarily  supposed ;  that  it  arises  from  the 
two  distinct  tendencies  of  the  human  spirit,  each  however  com- 
bined with  sin  ;  and  that  no  hope  of  reunion  can  ever  be  enter- 
tained, unless,  on  the  side  of  the  catholics,  the  Romish  principle 
of  tyrannical  rule,  and  on  that  of  the  protestants,  the  fanaticism 
of  a  critical  understanding,  be  tamed  by  the  influence  of  a 
living  faith.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  catholic  church,  re- 
forming itself,  may  at  last  compel  Rome  to  give  up  the  egotisti- 
cal dogma  of  the  power  of  the  church,  with  which  all  its  anli- 
christian  errors  and  prejudices  are  so  closely  combined.  Thus 
also  protestants,  after  a  long  experience,  may  ultimately  re- 
nounce that  critical  principle  of  individual  inquiry  with  which 
their  systematic  unbelief,  which  has  set  up  antichristianity  on 
our  path,  is  so  entirely  identified.  In  this  manner  both  parties 
may  subject  themselves  to  the  temporal  and  spiritual  rule  of  the 
ecclesiastical  synods  proposed  by  Calvin.  The  catholics  will 
learn  to  venerate  the  holy  Scriptures  in  their  whole  extent ;  the 
protestants  tradition.  The  evangelical  principle  of  justification 
will  conquer  through  Christ,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  church 
will  fall  with  the  papal  rule.  On  the  other  hand,  the  doctrine 
of  election,  carried  too  far  by  human  reason,  and  disturbing  the 
consciousness  of  freedom  in  man  ;  and,  in  the  mystery  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  the  dogma,  properly  intelligible  neither  to  the 
one  party  nor  the  other,  will  give  way,  and  the  belief  in  the 
real  presence  of  the  glorified  Christ  will  at  length  convert  be- 

vol.  i. — 33 


514  CONCLUDING    REMARKS.  [cHAP.  IX. 

Iievcrs  into  spiritual  members  of  his  body.  All,  indeed,  will 
sooner  or  later  be  obliged  to  confess  the  force  of  Calvin's  words,  in 
which  he  acknowledged  that  (his  mystery  so  surpassed,  by  its 
sublimity,  the  power  of  his  comprehension,  that  he  could  only 
admire  with  awe  what  his  soul  could  not  explain. 


APPENDIX. 


Page  167. 

Is  the  "  Christianas  Fidei  a  Huldrycho  Zvinglio  prasdicatae  brevis  et  clara 
Expositio,  ab  ipso  Zvinglio  paulo  ante  mortem  ejus  ad  Regem  Christianum 
6cripta,"  &c.  Tiguri  153G,  the  following  passages  occur.  Calvin  remarks, 
in  a  letter  to  Viret,  that  Zwingli  probably  modified,  in  some  degree,  the 
opinions  here  stated.  In  reference  to  the  fact  that  in  God  alone  can  we 
place  our  trust,  he  says, — "  Si  sacraraentis  fidendum  est,  jam  sacramenta 
Deum  esse  oportet,  ut  non  tantum  eucharistiaa  sacramentum,  sed  et  baptis- 
mus,  manuumque  impositio  Deus  sit."  "If  we  are  to  trust  to  the  sacra- 
ments, the  sacraments  must  be  God  ;  so  that  not  only  the  sacrament  of 
the  eucharist,  but  baptism,  and  the  imposition  of  hands,  are  God."  Again  : 
We  do  not  reject  the  sacraments,  but  give  them  their  proper  place.  "  Sac- 
ramenta veneramur  ut  signa  et  symbola  rerum  sacrarum,  non  quasi  res 
ipsse  sint  quarum  signa  sunt."  They  are  signs  and  symbols,  but  not  the 
things  which  they  represent.  So  also  the  Lord's  Supper  is  only  a  '  com- 
memoration of  the  death  of  Christ.  "  Jam  constat  frivol  urn  esse,  quod  sac- 
ramenta docemus  peccata  dimittere,  bonaque  largiii."  On  the  presence  of 
Christ  in  the  sacrament  it  is  said,  "  In  ccena  Domini  naturale  ac  substantiale 
istud  corpus  Christi,  quo  et  hie  passus  est,  et  nunc  in  ccelis  ad  dexteram 
patris  sedet,  non  naturaliter  et  per  essentiam  editur,  sed  spiritualiter  tantum. 
Christi  humanitas  non  est  seterna,  ergo  neque  infinita  ;  si  finita,  jam  non  est 
ubique — mens  reficitur  hac  fide,  quam  symbolis  testaris."  Thus  the  words 
of  consecration  must  not  be  taken  naturally,  and  in  their  proper  sense,  but 
symbolically,  sacramentally,  denominatively ;  in  the  way  of  metonyme. 
"  Hoc  est  corpus  meum  sacramentale,  sive  mysticum  ;  i.  e.  ejus,  quod  vere 
adsumsi  mortique  objeci,  symbolum  sacramentale  et  vicarium."  That  is, 
"  This  is  my  sacramental  or  mystical  body  :  the  sacramental  and  vicarious 
6ymbol,  namely,  of  that  which  I  truly  took  and  subjected  to  death." 

Page  170. 
The  following  is  the  original  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  concerning  the 


516  APPENDIX. 

Eucharist,  presented  by  Farel,  Calvin,  and  Viret,  and  which  was  subscribed 
by  Bucer  and  Capito,  1537  : — 

"  Vitam  spiritualem  quam  nobis  Christus  largitur,  non  in  eo  duntaxat 
sitam  esse  confiternur,  quod  spiritu  suo  nos  vivificat,  sed  quod  spiritus  etiam 
sui  virtuto  carnis  suae  vivificae  nos  facit  participes,  qua  partlcipatione  i:i 
vitam  aeternam  pascamur.  Itaque  cum  de  communione,  quam  cum  Chris  to 
fideles  babent,  loquimur,  non  minus  carni  et  sanguini  ejus  communicare 
ipsos  intelligimus  quam  spiritui,  ut  ita  totum  Christum  possideant.  Si- 
quidem  cum  aperte  testctur  scriptura,  carnem  Christi  vere  nobis  esse 
cibum,  et  sanguinem  ejus  vere  potura ;  ipsis  vero  nos  educari  oportere 
constat,  si  vitam  in  Christo  quaerimus.  Jam  nee  exiguum  quiddam  aut 
vulgaredocet  apostolus,  cum  nos  carnem  de  Christi  carne  et  ossa  ex  ossibus 
ejus  esse  asserit,  sed  eximium  nostrae  cum  ipsius  corpore  communionis 
mysterium  ita  designat,  quod  nullus  verbis  satis  pro  dignitate  explicaro 
queat.  Cseterum  istis  nihil  repugnat,  quod  Dominus  noster  in  coelum  sub- 
latus,  localem  corporis  sui  praesentiam  nobis  abstulit,  quas  hie  minime  exigi- 
tur.  Nam  utcunque  nos  in  hac  mortalitate  peregrinantes  in  eodem  loco 
cum  ipso  non  includimur  aut  continemur,  nullis  tamen  finibus  limitata  est 
ejus  spiritus  efficacia,  quin  vere  copulare  et  iu  unum  colligere  possit  quae 
locorum  spatiis  sunt  disjuncta.  Ergo  spiritual  ejus  vinculum  esse  nostras 
cum  ipso  participations  agnosciraus,  sed  ita  ut  nos  ille  carnis  et  sanguinis 
domiui  substantia  vere  ad  immoitalitatem  pascat  et  eorum  participations 
vivificet.  Ilanc  autem  carnis  et  sanguinis  sui  communionem  Christus  sub 
panis  et  vini  symbolis  in  sacrosancta  sua  ccena  offert  et  exhibet  omnibus,  qui 
earn  rite  celebrant  juxta  legitimum  ejus  institutum. 

"  Subscriptio  Buceri,  Capitonis  et  aliorum. 
"  Hanc  sententiam  optimorum  fratrum  et  symmystarum  nostronim  G. 
Farelli,  Joh.  Calvini  atque  P.  Vireti  ut  orthodoxam  ampleetimur,  nequo 
unquam  sensi  Christum  Dominum  in  sacra  ccena  prcesentem  localiter  aut 
ubique  diffusum :  verum  et  finitum  habet  corpus  et  in  gloria  manet 
ccelesti.  In  hac  autem  nihilo  minus  est  per  verbum  suum  atque  syrn- 
bola  :  hie  sistit  se  nobis  cum  ipso  jam  in  ccelestia  per  fidem  sublevatis, 
ut  panis  quern  frangimus  et  calix  per  quern  Christum  pnedicarnus  sit 
nobis  vere  corporis  et  sanguinis  ejus  communicatio.  Praeteroa  ut  enorem 
in  Ecclesia  non  ferendum  agnoscimus,  nuda  et  inania  Christum  statuere  in 
sacra  sua  ccena  symbola,  et  non  credere  hie  ipsum  quoque  corpus  et  ipsum 
sanguinem  Domini  percipi,  hoc  est  ipsum  Dominum  verum  Dcura  et 
hominem. 

"  Martinus  Bucrrus  sua  manu  soripsit. 
"  Wolfgangus  Capito  subscripsit." 

Page  128. 
The  Articles  here  referred  to  were  drawn  up  in  Calvin's  own  hand-writing, 
and  were  thus  expressed  in  the  original  Latin  : — 


APPENDIX.  517 

"  1.  Ex  tribus  conformitatis  capitibus,  quae  nobis  sunt  proposita,  pri- 
mum,  de  baptisteriis  exigences  nos  facile  admissuros  jam  antehnc  testati 
sumus,  modo  in  ceteris  nihil  ex  ritu  hactenus  observato  immutetur ;  nempe, 
ut  baptisraus  ipse,  quibus  horis  ecclesia  convenire  solet,  administretur,  et 
ejus  doctrina,  quo  melius  exaudiri  queat,  e  suggestu  recitetur.  2.  In  mu- 
tando  pane  paullo  majori  difficultate  constringimur.  Nuper  enim  perspexi- 
mus,  quantum  offensionis  exoriturum  erat,  si  qua  tunc  facta  fuisset  muta- 
tio.  Nos  tamen  daturos  fidelissimam  operam  recipimus,  ut  panis  azymi 
usu5  in  ecclesiam  nostram  inducatur.  Sed  hoc  vicissim  cupimus  a  Bernati- 
bus  impetratum,  ut  fractionem  panis  nobiscum  reeipiant,  ne  posthac  de 
hac  quoque  differentia  nova  qusestio  nascatur.  3.  In  feriis  plurima  labora- 
mus  perplexitate,  queraadtnodura  semper  sumus  professi,  neque  alia  condi- 
tione  concedere  possumus  istas  quatuor  institui,  nisi  ut  tollatur  nimium 
imperiosa  earum  indictio,  ac  liberum  sit  iis  qui  volent,  post  concionem  ad 
opus  se  conferee.  Non  tamen  fenestram  audemus  aperire  tot  turbis,  quas 
emersuras  jam  prospicimus,  si  aliter  fiat.  4.  Ha3c  autem  nobis  optima  et 
convenientissima  censetur  ratio  recipiendse  conformitatis,  si  legati  Bernatium 
palam  testentur,  ceremonias  hactenus  apud  nos  observatas  sibi  minime  impro- 
bari,  neque  se  quidpiam  in  illis  novatum  ideo  cupere,  quod  scripturoe  puri- 
tate  alienum  judicent :  sed  unam  se  concordiam  et  unitatem  spectare,  quae 
rituum  similitudine  melius  coalescere  solet.  Concio  etiam  a  nobis  habeatur 
de  cerimoniarum  libertate,  deinde  ad  conformitatem  popuhim  adliortemur, 
propositis  ejus  rationibus.  Demura  liberum  ecclesise  judicium  permittatur. 
Sic  enim  occurretur  offendiculis,  bonorum  animi  prreparabuntur,  qui  nunc 
aliquantum  sunt  aversi,  et  res  quo  decet  ordine  geretur.  5.  Si  de  nobis 
restituendis  agitur,  istud  inprimis  cupimus  curatum,  ut  ad  diluendas 
calumnias,  quibus  opprcssi  sumus,  admittamur.  Barbaries  enim  et  inhu- 
manitas  fuit  non  ferenda,  quod  indefensos  damnarunt,  cum  nos  ad  caussam 
dicendam  pro  curia;  foribus  praasto  essemus.  Obnoxium  siquidem  futurum 
est  nostrum  ministerium  impiorum  maledicentiae,  quamdiu  jactare  poterunt, 
per  culpae  deprecationem  fuisse  restitutes.  Jactabunt  autem  baud  dubie, 
nisi  datus  fuerit  purgationi  locus.  6.  Erit  deinde  studium  adhibendum  dis- 
ciplines stabiliendae.  Alioqui  mox  collabetur,  quidquid  in  praesens  instaura- 
tum  fuerit.  Etsi  autem  plura  optemus,  quia  tamen  hoc  tempore  obtineri 
posse  nulla  spes  est,  quae  in  primis  necessaria  sunt,  constitui  cupimus. 
7.  Primum  est,  ut  urbs  in  certas  parochias  distribuatur.  Quum  enim,  pra>- 
terquam  quod  populosa  est,  collecta  etiam  est  ex  varia  diversarum  gentium 
multitudine,  valde  confusa  semper  erit  ejus  administrate,  nisi  propius  pas- 
torem  suum  plebs  respiciat,  et  pastor  vicissim  plebem.  Quod  fiet  instituta 
ista  distinctione.  8.  Deinde  ut  eo  numero  ministri  assumantur,  qui  tantae 
provincise  sufficere  queant.  9.  Ut  Germanus  excommunicationis  usus  res- 
tituatur  eo,  quem  prajscripsiraus,  modo,  nempe  ut  a  Senatu  eligantur  ex  sin- 
gulis urbis  regionibus  probi  et  cordati  viri,  quibus  in  commune  nobiscum 
ea  cura  incumbat.     10.  Ut  in  ministrorum  vocatione  legitimus  ordo  serve- 


518  APPENDIX. 

tur:  ne  manuum  impositio,  quae  penes  ministros  esse  debet,  magistratus 
potentia  tollatur  e  medio.  Quod  non  semel  nostri  conati  sunt.  11.  Quum 
autera  duo  restant  ceremoniarum  capita,  in  quorum  altero  jam  diserimen 
est,  in  altero  futurum  exspectamus,  rogandi  sunt  nobis  et  obtestandi  Ber- 
nates,  ut  in  iis  sese  nobis  accommodent.  12.  Prius  est,  at  frequentior  ccenae 
uso8  restituatur,  si  non  secundum  veteris  ecclesia;  consuetudinem,  at  saltern 
singulis  quibusque  mensibus  semel.  13.  Alterum  ut  ad  publicas  orationes 
Psalrnorum  can  do  adhibeatur.  14.  Postremo,  quum  in  lascivis  et  obsccenis 
cantilenis  ac  chorasis,  quae  ad  illarum  numeros  semper  sunt  composita:,  nostri 
Bernatium  exempla  prsetexant,  oratos  volumus,  ut  e  sua  quoque  ditione 
tales  spurcitias  eliminent,  ne  suo  exemplo  dent  nostris  occasionem  rursus  eas 
expetendi.     M.  Junio  1538." 

Page  194. 

Dr.  Henry  has  directed  especial  attention  to  Calvin's  OAvn  translation  of 
the  Institutes  into  French.  The  passages  which  refer  to  the  doctrine  of 
Providence,  as  spoken  of  in  the  present  chapter,  afford  an  interesting  speci- 
men of  his  French  style  : — 

Liv.  I.  Chap.  XVI.  p.  4.  "Quant  est  des  choses  advenir,  Salomon  ac- 
corde  facilement  avec  la  providence  de  Dieu  les  consultations,  qu'on  en 
prend.  Car  comme  il  se  moque  de  l'outrecuidance  de  ceux  qui  entrepre- 
nent  hardiment  sans  Dieu,  tout  ce  qui  leur  vient  en  fantaisie,  comme  s'ils 
n'estoyent  point  regis  de  sa  main:  aussi  en  autre  lieu  il  parle  ainsi :  Le 
cceur  de  l'homme  doit  penser  a  sa  voye  :  et  le  Seigneur  gouvernera  ses  pas. 
En  quoy  il  sigtiifie  que  le  decret  eternel  de  Dieu  ne  nous  empesche  point 
que  nous  ne  prouvoyons  a  nous  sous  sa  bonne  volonte  et  mettions  ordre  a 
nos  affaires.  La  raison  est  manifeste  :  car  celuy  qui  a  limite  nostre  vie, 
nous  a  aussi  commis  la  solicitude  d'icelle :  et  nous  a  donne  les  moyens 
pour  la  conserver :  et  nous  a  fait  prevoir  des  perils,  a  ce  qu'ils  ne  nous 
peussent  surprendre,  nous  donnant  les  remedes  au  contraire,  pour  y  obvier. 
Main  tenant  il  appert  quel  est  nostre  devoir.  Si  le  Seigneur  nous  a  bailie 
nostre  vie  en  garde,  que  nous  la  conservions  :  s'il  nous  donna  les  moyens 
de  ce  faire,  que  nous  en  usions  :  s'il  nous  monstre  les  dangers,  que  nous  ne 
nous  y  jettions  point  follement  et  sans  propos  :  s'il  nous  offre  les  remedes, 
que  nous  ne  les  mesprisions  point.  Mais  nul  peril  ne  peut  nuire,  dira 
quelqu'un,  s'il  n'est  ordonne  qu'il  nous  nuise.  Et  si  ainsi  est,  on  ne  peut 
venir  a  rencontre  par  aucun  remede.  Mais  au  contraire,  que  sera  ce  si  les 
dangers  ne  sont  pas  invincibles,  d'autant  que  le  Seigneur  nous  a  assigned 
les  remedes  pour  les  surmonter  ?  Regarde  quelle  convenance  il  y  a  entre 
ton  argument  et  l'ordre  de  la  providence  divine.  Tu  infores  qu'il  ne  faut 
donner  garde  des  dangers  pour  ce  que  nous  en  pourrions  eschapper  sans 
nous  en  garder,  moyennent  qu'ils  ne  soyent  pas  invincibles.  Le  Seigneur 
au  contraire  te  commande  de  t'en  garder  pour  ce  qu'il  veut  que  tu  en  es- 
chappea.     Cea  enragez  ne  considerent  point  ce  que  Ton  voit  a  l'ceil,  que 


APPENDIX.  519 

l'industrie  de  consulter  et  se  garder,  a  este  inspired  de  Dieu  aux  hommes, 
par  laquelle  ils  servissent  a  la  providence,  en  conservant  leur  vie,  eomme  au 
eontraire  par  nonchalance  et  mespris  ils  acquierent  les  miseres  qu'il  veut  leur 
impoaer.  Car  dont  est-ce  qu'il  advient  qu'un  homnie  prudent  en  mettant 
ordre  a  ses  affaires  destourne  le  mal  qui  luy  estoit  prochain,  et  un  fol  par  sa 
temerite  perit  ?     Qu'est-ce  autre  chose,  si  non  que  folie  et  prudence  sont 

instrumens  de  la  dispensation  de  Dieu,  en  une  partie  et  en  l'autre  ? 

Nous  ne  devons  point  contempler  la  providence  de  Dieu  nue,  mais  avec  les 
moyens  que  Dieu  lui  a  conjoints,  comroe  s'il  la  revestoit  pour  nous  apparoir 
en  son  estat. 

P.  6.  "  Pourtant  le  cceur  de  l'homme  chrestien  veu  qu'il  a  celatout  resolu, 
qu'il  advient  lien  a  l'adventure,  mais  que  toutes  choses  se  font  par  la  provi- 
dence de  Dieu,  regardera  tousjours  a  luy,  comnie  a  la  principale  cause  de 
tout  ce  qui  se  fait :  mais  cependant  il  ne  laissera  point  de  contempler  les 
causes  inferieures  en  leur  degre.  Davantage,  il  ne  doutera  pas  que  la 
providence  de  Dieu  veille  pour  sa  conservation  :  et  qu'elle  ne  pcrmettera 

rien    advenir,    qui   ne   soit    pour  son   bien   et    salut. Quant   est   des 

hommes,  soit  qu'ils  soyent  bons  ou  mauvais,  ils  recognoistront  que  leurs 
conseils,  volontez  et  forces,  puissances  et  entreprinses  sont  sous  la  main  de 
Dieu  :  tellement  qu'il  est  en  luy  de  les  fleschir  ou  bon  luy  semble,  et  les 
reprimer  toutes  fois  et  quantes  que  bon  lui  semble." 


END   OF    VOL.    I. 


DATE  DUE 

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